Brothers in Arms
by Sheherazade's Fable
Summary: XMFC. When Xavier convinces Alex to go on a recruiting trip with him, his life is changed forever with the discovery that his brother, Scott, is still alive. After a struggle, Alex manages to take him back to the Institute. Although the brothers' search for a place to belong might be over, figuring out where they belong in the fight for mutantkind is just beginning.
1. Chapter 1

"We need to radio for help!"

"There's no time Katherine!"

Alex watched as his father unbuckled and ran to the back of the plane. He could already see the flames start to spread over the roof. The air was becoming thick and smoky, making it difficult to breathe. His brother whimpered and Alex pulled him closer.

"It's gonna be okay Scotty boy, it's gonna be okay," he said.

His voice sounded thick and uncomfortable. What was he saying? He knew it wasn't going to be okay. His father would never abandon the controls if he could land them safely. His mother was still trying to radio for help, but from the look on her face he knew that his father was right. There wasn't enough time. It only made the panic rise in his throat even more sharply.

His father staggered towards them, carrying two parachutes. His eyes met Alex's mother's.

"Katherine..." his father said.

His mother's eyes filled with tears, and she nodded.

"What's going on?" Alex said.

"Get these on," his father said.

Alex knew the tone his father was using left no room for argument. He got to his feet, pulling his brother with him. His father passed him a parachute and began to buckle Scott into his. Alex knew how to do his up: it was one of the first things his father had taught him when he'd said he wanted to be a pilot. At thirteen he could buckle himself into a parachute in his sleep.

His mother got out of her chair. She walked up to Alex as he finished the last buckle. She held him close, and Alex felt a pit of dread in his stomach.

"Mom..." he said.

"I love you Alex," she said, "I love you."

She let go of him and wrapped her arms around Scott. Alex's father walked up to him, his expression solemn and earnest.

"Count to fifty when you jump," he said, "When you reach fifty, pull Scott's parachute, and then pull your own. Do you understand?"

Alex nodded, his throat dry. His father pulled him into a rough embrace.

"It's going to be alright," he said, "I love you."

The horror and certainty of the situation began crashing down on him. Tears began to spill out of his eyes.

"I love you too," Alex said, "Dad-"

"Alex," his father said.

He pulled away from him. His father's smile was forced and his eyes were locked on his.

"Take care of your brother, alright?" he said.

Alex nodded. His mother wrenched open the plane's door. Alex grabbed Scott's hand.

"Hold on tight Scotty boy," he whispered.

He cast one last, desperate glance at his parents, and then stepped off the plane, Scott in tow. He felt the wind whipping around him, heard his brother whimper. He forced himself not to look back at the plane, to count calmly to fifty.

When he reached it he let go of Scott's hand and yanked on his brother's parachute cord. He watched it blossom into the sky, and Alex risked a smile. He pulled his own cord and felt the parachute pull him back into the sky.

A second later he was hurled forwards. In shock he looked back at his parachute. Some of the debris from the plane had clipped the side of his parachute, setting it on fire. He could feel his descent begin to speed up, could see his brother's frightened eyes before they faded from distance. Minutes flew by as Alex struggled to figure out what to do, and the ground rushed up to meet him-

Alex awoke, drenched with sweat. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, breathing hard. He looked around his room at the Institute, trying to focus on something other than the image of a burning plane.

He let go of his hair and let his hands fist in the sheets. The fabric he was sleeping on, that was real. His room, the darkness, the mess he'd made, that was real, that was happening now. He took another shaky breath and glanced at the clock.

It was still two hours before he was supposed to get up. Alex knew better than to think that he was going to get back to sleep though. He swallowed and got to his feet, his toes burying themselves in the rug. There hadn't been any rugs in any of his foster homes: just cold wooden floorboards. It made him appreciate carpets.

Still feeling shaken he walked to his window and pulled back the corner. He looked out at the lawn. No one was out yet. He hadn't expected them to be. The only ones who were ever up this early were Hank and the Professor, and it was never to take a brisk walk. He had plenty of time to compose himself before someone saw him. He was grateful for that.

In the two years since Cuba, Alex had seen quite a few changes at the Institute. He estimated that they had about twenty students now, not including him, Sean, or Hank. He couldn't think of them as students. Not when they went out some days and fought Erik and his goons. All of the homework was just another burden.

He closed his eyes. They'd just gotten back from another mission yesterday. He'd seen Erik again, seen the comic book villain outfit, and wondered just what the hell had happened. He never knew how to feel when they fought them other than a sense of indignation and an urge not to die.

It never really seemed to fade, despite all the time that had passed. In another year or so he was going to graduate. The professor had started bugging him about colleges, what he wanted to do with his future. Alex wasn't really sure what the Professor expected him to say when they had these discussions, although he knew the Professor had some ideas about him possibly becoming a teacher.

It was laughable to Alex, it really was. He wasn't smart like Hank or interested in continuing his schooling like Sean. He'd been good at punching people and fixing up vehicles. Nothing else. That didn't exactly translate well to teaching in his mind.

He let the curtain drop back in front of the window, trying not to think about his parents, about the little brother who had followed him around with such admiration in his eyes. Before he'd joined the X-men, that had been the last time he'd felt like he could be something. It had been four years since Scott's death, and it didn't seem to get any easier. He'd barely talked to the Professor about the issue. All he'd said was that he'd had a younger brother and parents who'd died in a plane crash. He couldn't see a way to burden him with even more misery.

The Professor's sister and best friend had betrayed him, left him for dead. Then, for reasons Alex still didn't fully understand or agree with, he'd sent Moira away. He'd hoped that the Professor had a plan somewhere, some idea of having her come back. The only reason he wasn't telling them was because he was uncertain she would come back, although Alex knew that she would.

As time passed, it became increasingly obvious that he'd sent her away for good. A small core of anger still burned within Alex for that. He'd discussed it with Hank and Sean: he knew they felt the same that he did. Moira might not have been a mutant, and he might not have been close to her, but she'd been loyal. She'd stayed with the Professor when the ambulance took him to the hospital, had held his hand when they'd learned that he'd never walk again.

She had taken them back to Westchester during the Professor's recovery, helped them as they reeled from betrayal and shock. She had avoided the CIA's calls instead of doing her duty. Moira had helped them stay together when they were drifting apart. She'd done it all for them, been ready to sacrifice everything she'd worked for to protect them, and she'd been dismissed like some misbehaving child.

Meanwhile, the people who had betrayed them kept their memories and gallivanted around the country, making the world fear them. His own thoughts on the matter were jumbled, but they tended towards anger when he thought of his former friends. They were failures as friends though, and perhaps failures as human beings.

He sat down on the edge of his bed, his own past creeping in and poisoning his thoughts. He probably shouldn't be so hypocritical about people failing others. Alex should have found a way to stay closer to his brother's parachute. Scott had been a smart five-year-old, but he'd been five. Something had apparently gone wrong during the descent, and when Alex woke from his coma, he learned that he was the only survivor.

The death of his parents had been painful, but his brother's death had crushed him. Scott had been his responsibility. His parents, knowing how much he loved his brother, how dependable he was, had told him to look after Scott. He'd failed.

That night wasn't the first time that he'd dreamed of that day in the plane. It was a constant nightmare, one that stalked his thoughts. Every few months, no matter what had happened, his mind felt it necessary to remind him of that day. As if he could forget.

He sighed and got up. Alex considered getting dressed, but he didn't see the point. Not when it was so early. He ran his hand through his hair and headed downstairs. He figured he should get some breakfast. It wasn't going to help to go about moping so early in the morning. He got into the kitchen and poured himself some cereal. Alex began heating up some water for coffee.

In the distance he could hear the creak of wheels. Alex took two mugs out and began looking for tea. By the time the Professor wheeled into the kitchen, Alex had a cup of tea waiting for him.

"I was that obvious?" the Professor asked.

Alex shrugged. He began drinking his own coffee.

"You're up early lately," the Professor said.

Alex shrugged again.

"I don't sleep much," he said, "You're up early too though."

The Professor nodded.

"There was an incident in Omaha the other night," he said, "A young mutant lost control of their powers. I was hoping to get there early and ask him if he'd be interested in the Institute."

Alex drank some of his coffee.

"Why the rush?" he asked, "Afraid the other guys might recruit him?"

He still didn't feel too comfortable using the phrase "The Brotherhood." "The other guys" was the best he could do. The Professor hesitated, looking at his cup of tea.

"No, he's much younger than what they'd be interested in," the Professor said, "But his power...he accidentally blew up a building."

Alex winced.

"Yeah, an early start sounds like a good idea," he said.

The Professor nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"I was hoping to have someone come with me," he said.

Alex put his coffee mug down.

"I'm probably not the best choice," he said.

The Professor hesitated again.

"I understand that now might not be the best time," he said, "But I was wondering if you'd given any thought to my suggestion."

Alex snorted. The teacher thing again. On the surface it looked like a good idea. He knew he could probably teach P.E. or shop if he really worked for it, and it would allow him to stay at the only home he'd had since he was thirteen.

The Professor certainly thought he could do it. Alex knew he couldn't. If anything, his latest nightmare served as a reminder why he couldn't be trusted with other people. His parents had trusted him with the life of his brother, and he'd failed. He was just barely scraping by with the X-men, no matter what the Professor said.

"It won't work Professor," he said.

"I wish you wouldn't dismiss it so easily," the Professor said, "You could do so many students here so much good."

"Really?" Alex said.

He laughed.

"I'm not great at relating to other people," he said.

"I would have taken that excuse two years ago," the Professor said, "You're a different man from then."

Alex snorted again.

"Professor, I'm not sure there's much a foster-system reject can offer students in the way of relating to them," Alex said.

The Professor cocked his head in a knowing way. Alex had the feeling that he'd been talked into a corner somehow.

"Funny enough, the student I'm visiting today is part of the foster system," the Professor said, "After his traumatic experience, it might help to have someone he could relate to with me."

Alex felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"Professor..."

"Just one recruitment trip Alex," the Professor said, "That's all I'm asking."

Alex picked up his mug and considered it. He'd never been on a recruitment trip: those were reserved for the Professor and, occasionally, Hank. Sometimes Alex would accompany him as a kind of bodyguard in case they thought Erik's people might show up, but he would never go into the house with him.

He wanted to dismiss the Professor, tell him he was barking up the wrong tree, but it was the Professor. Despite his own reservations, and the Professor's own faults, the Professor tended to have sound judgment. He'd often seen things in Alex that Alex hadn't seen himself. Even now he didn't see quite a few things that the Professor saw.

"If I do this, will you stop bugging me about it?" he asked.

"I promise," the Professor said.

He finished his coffee.

"Alright," he said, "What's one trip gonna change?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Just one minute, I'll go get Mr. Windsor for you," the secretary said.

Alex watched as she walked away. He sat down next to the Professor and looked around the lobby.

"This place is downright bleak," Alex said.

The Professor nodded. It was a testament to just how bleak things were that the Professor didn't tell him to keep his voice down. Alex looked around and scoffed at the sign on the orphanage. "Omaha Spring Meadows Orphanage." It made him sick that they'd given such a name to such a desolate looking place.

"Who the hell runs these places anyway?" he asked.

"Some are run by the government, some are private institutions," the Professor said, "I believe that this is a private institution."

"So Windsor runs it," Alex said.

He tilted his voice into a sneer.

"I'd like to have a few words with him," he said.

"Alex," the Professor said, his voice gentle.

"I've seen the bathrooms here, and I saw that thing they call a yard," Alex said, "You did too. Don't pretend you didn't."

The Professor fell silent for a moment.

"I know that your...experiences, have shaped the way you view the system," he said at last, "But I believe that it does do some measure of good."

"Find me a good orphanage, a good foster home, and I'll believe you," Alex said, "Just one."

The Professor looked like he was considering arguing the point further, but Mr. Windsor came in. He looked pale but composed. Alex considered cracking his knuckles.

_Alex, please. For the sake of the mutant in question, please restrain yourself._

Alex sighed and leaned back. The Professor wheeled forward and extended his hand.

"Mr. Robert Windsor?" he asked.

Mr. Windsor hesitated and Alex got ready to punch him in the face. He'd seen a few reactions to the Professor's wheelchair before, but they still bothered him. Still, Windsor did take the Professor's hand.

"Professor Charles Xavier?" he said.

"The same," the Professor said.

"I understand you're here about what happened yesterday," he said.

"Yes," the Professor said.

"It was an unfortunate incident," Windsor said, "He'd always been so quiet and obedient."

Alex mentally translated the words into "bullied frequently." He caught the Professor's eye. He'd understood the unspoken words as well.

"I heard you run an Institute in New York for problem children," Windsor said.

"Not problem children exactly," the Professor said, smiling, "Just children who need alternative means of education."

Windsor nodded, looking at the Professor as though he understood him perfectly. He didn't. He really didn't.

"We'll be happy to transfer the child in question," Windsor said, "But the responsibility may not rest with us anymore."

"I'm sorry?" the Professor asked.

"The boy blew up a building by unknown means," Windsor said, "The government has told me that they wish to take charge of him."

"What, juvie?" Alex said.

Windsor frowned at him. He stared at him for a bit, and the stare was not kind.

_Alex, please remain quiet_, the Professor thought, _To him you're just another child._

Alex yearned to tell Windsor what he thought of him.

"I believe that they think that a juvenile detention facility is appropriate," Windsor said at last, "The boy is at the police station currently. Let me see here."

He pulled a pad of paper and a pen out of his pocket. Windsor began writing as he spoke.

"I'll give you my consent, for what it's worth," he said, "The building was empty at the time of the explosion, but the police are still very wary of him."

He finished and handed the Professor the paper.

"There," he said, "I hope that your inquiries prove fruitful. However, it must be obvious at this point that we cannot accept him back at this institution."

"I understand," the Professor said.

He made a motion to Alex. Alex got up and pushed him out the door, trying his hardest not to give Windsor a backwards glance. His hands began gripping the handlebars on the Professor's wheelchair so hard that he felt his knuckles ache.

"Accept him back. Like it's some sort of privilege," Alex muttered.

The Professor didn't say anything as Alex pushed him back to the car. Once they were settled he gave Alex the address. Alex put the keys in the ignition.

"Professor, how are we gonna deal with the suits?" he asked.

"The government," the Professor corrected.

"You know what I mean," Alex said.

"Yes, unfortunately I do," the Professor said.

He sighed.

"If they press their case, then I'm not sure what we can do about it," he said.

"You got me out," Alex said.

"Yes, when the CIA was helping us," the Professor said, "For some reason I don't think that we're going to have that option available to us anymore."

Alex stared at the steering wheel.

"How old's the kid?" he asked.

"You're not very good at listening, are you?" the Professor asked.

Alex frowned.

"I told you on the way up," the Professor said.

"So I forgot," Alex shrugged.

The Professor shook his head.

"He's nine," he said.

"Nine," Alex repeated, "Damn. That's kinda young for powers."

"I'm glad you've been listening to something Hank's told you," the Professor said.

He wanted to tell the Professor that he listened all the time: he just didn't understand much of it. He figured it was kind of a given though.

"Times of extreme stress make anything possible," the Professor said.

Alex gritted his teeth.

"Was he getting bullied then?" he said, "Sounds like that happened a lot."

"There were several other witnesses, all a few years older than him," the Professor said, "So it is likely."

Alex tapped his fingers on the wheel.

"Would they really send him to juvie?" he asked, "I saw some young kids there, but not that young. I mean, I think the youngest I ever saw was eleven, and that was really weird."

"He blew up a building, and they don't know how," the Professor said, "No doubt he tried to explain, but I'm not sure that they understood."

His voice sounded gloomy.

"The boy needs help, not confinement," he said, "He'd be one of our youngest students, but the chance to help someone from manifestation to maturity..."

The Professor trailed off. Alex knew that his dream was to help guide mutants from their first encounter with their powers, to help them before they became lost by the fear that so many people felt. If he became a teacher he'd have to fight for that dream alongside the Professor, not like he'd been doing in the X-men, but on a battlefield to win minds through education and trust. The idea of that burden was crushing.

It was just another reason why he couldn't be what the Professor wanted him to be.

"We're here," the Professor said.

Alex pulled into the police station and stopped the car. He got out and unfolded the Professor's wheelchair. Once the Professor got him into it Alex pushed him to the station. He had no idea what waited them there, but he hoped that the kid would be cooperative. They might have a chance against the powers that be if he did.

The Professor instructed him to sit down and wheeled up to the front desk. Alex sat down and fidgeted uncomfortably. He preferred when he sat outside of the buildings, waiting for some sign that something might be wrong. At least then he'd known what to be on the lookout for.

"Look, we're not sure that that's a good idea."

Alex looked up. A few people in police uniforms were crowded around the desk.

"Why?" the Professor asked, "He's just a child."

"There's...you're gonna say I'm crazy," one of the officers said, "But that kid, there's this thing with his eyes. Okay? It's not normal, and I'll be glad when the people from juvie can take him away."

Alex clenched his fists for what seemed the millionth time. The entire trip was setting him on edge.

"I'm actually an alternative to that," the Professor said.

"I don't know how they're going to feel about that," another officer said.

"Just let me talk to him," the Professor said.

"Sorry. You seem like a nice guy an all, but I don't think that's a good idea," an officer said.

"I'll just be talking to him," the Professor said, "Surely there's no harm in that?"

Alex saw the faint glaze in the officer's eyes. He hid a private smile.

"If it's just talking," the officer said.

"I still don't know if this is a good idea," another officer said.

"Hey, it'll be fine. We'll just make sure they don't remove the blindfold," the officer said.

"Blindfold?" Alex said.

His voice came out sharp and angry. The officers looked at him. He knew that the Professor was making motions to him, but he wasn't about to let this stand.

"Let me get this straight," he said, "You have a nine-year-old, alone, and blindfolded in an unfamiliar place?"

Instead of the indignant reaction Alex had expected, the first officer only shook his head slowly.

"You haven't seen what he can do son," he said, "If you did, you'd have locked him up too."

Alex fought the urge to demonstrate his power, show them something to really be afraid of. He took deep breaths, struggling to calm himself down. Alex couldn't do that sort of thing. If he had, then he might as well have left with Erik in Cuba.

"It's just a quick talk," the Professor said.

The first officer nodded and walked away, the others following him. The Professor wheeled over to him.

"I think that we may have to work on your people skills," he said.

"I told you," Alex said.

The Professor sighed. He began to take a small box out of his pocket.

"What's that?" Alex asked.

"I had Hank make these up before we left," the Professor said, "It's why I didn't leave immediately. I knew that the boy's power was concentrated in his eyes, and Hank said that, from the description, it sounded a little like your power. He was able to whip these up, although he said he would have preferred more time."

"Hank always wants more time," Alex said.

The Professor nodded and opened the box. Alex saw a pair of shining red sunglasses looking back at him.

"Nifty," he said, "Kid's gonna have some nice shades."

"I doubt he'll see it like that," the Professor said, "But it's a nice thought."

The first officer came back. He jerked his head and Alex got up. He pushed the Professor's chair into the cells. He supposed it was a quiet county or too early for crime: no one was in any of the other cells.

The first officer paused by the last cell. He jangled the keys and unlocked the door.

"You have visitors kid," he said.

Alex could just see a child hunched up in the corner of the cell, his head bowed and his hands clutching his knees. Still swallowing his hate Alex pushed the Professor in. The head officer shut the door behind them and locked it.

"Yell when you wanna be let out," he said.

Alex considered flipping him off. Instead he stood a little behind the Professor. No one said anything until the officer's footsteps faded down the hall.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, not looking up.

The Professor smiled.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier," he said, "I run a school for people like you."

"Freaks?" the boy sniffled, holding himself closer.

Alex bit the inside of his cheek.

"No, people with gifts," the Professor said, "And I have a gift for you."

He wheeled up and offered him the pair of sunglasses. Alex could just see the boy peek at them.

"What are those?" the boy asked.

"Special glasses," the Professor said, "They should help you contain what's in your eyes. I doubt that the blindfold is really helping."

"My eyes are shut," the boy murmured.

The Professor offered him the pair of sunglasses. The boy took them, his hand shaking. Alex swallowed, trying once again to keep down the pure hate he felt for the people who had let the boy get to this state.

The boy put them on, untying the blindfold with trembling hands, but still keeping his head down.

"It works..." he whispered.

The boy tilted his head up and looked at them. His eyes met Alex's and Alex felt his heart stop.

"Alex?" the boy said.

For a moment Alex couldn't speak. He knew the Professor was looking at him, but it was all he could do to breath.

"Scotty boy," he croaked.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex didn't know what to do or say. The only thing he could feel was a mixture of cold dread and apprehension. He was looking at a ghost, a small, precious remnant of his past that was calling hopelessly out to him.

"Alex?" the Professor asked.

He didn't even look at him. Scott was still staring at him through red-tinted glasses. Four years had turned his brother's face a little thinner and brought out some of his features. He looked so much like their father that it made Alex want to cry.

Scott got to his feet, his eyes never leaving him. The Professor was forgotten.

"You're dead," Scott said.

"So are you," Alex said.

"They said I was...they said no one else made it!" Scott said.

"They told me the same thing," Alex said.

His voice sounded distant and tinny to his ears. He could feel his mind working. Geography wasn't his strong subject, but after his parents had died he'd woken up in a hospital in Minnesota. It bordered Nebraska. Was there a possibility that no one had checked in the next state? That no one had bothered?

Obviously no one had, and they had both spent four years thinking that they were alone in the world.

"Goddammit," Alex said.

He took a step forward, his legs feeling leaden. Somehow that feeling seemed to galvanize the rest of him. He ran the next few steps and threw his arms around his brother. He could feel Scott hugging him back, his small fingernails digging into his back.

The weight of the revelation was terrible, and he sank to his knees, dragging Scott with him. Scott had been in the same hell he had. It would have been worse for him though: he'd been so gentle. Alex had once punched an older kid for him in elementary school. The system had succeeded in making Alex tough, albeit criminally so.

He could only imagine that it had hurt his brother horribly.

"You're alive," Alex said.

"So are you," Scott sobbed.

Alex wished he could cry. There was too much going on in his head and his heart. His brother was alive: he'd been labeled an orphan. He had manifested his powers: he'd been labeled a freak. Now, if they weren't careful, he'd end up in the same juvenile detention system that Alex had. If the foster system had hurt him, then this would eat him alive.

It pushed him into action. There wasn't much that he could do at the moment, but it gave him a strange purpose. He had to get Scott out of the dreary cell. If not, he had to do something to get himself arrested so he'd be right next to him. It wouldn't do much for his record, but he wouldn't let Scott out of his sight.

He looked up at the Professor and tapped his head, trying to form coherent thoughts to explain. The Professor nodded and put his hand to his temple. Alex could feel him looking at images of the plane crash, of being told he was the only one. He showed him his worries for his brother.

_Alex, why didn't you ever tell me?_

_I...I did..._Alex thought.

_Not everything. Not so I would understand. _

_Professor...I couldn't_, Alex thought, _I just couldn't. _

The Professor sighed.

_I understand. I'll see what I can do for getting him temporarily released. We won't be able to remove him from the state until all of this is settled though. _

_That sounds great,_ Alex thought, _Thank you._

The Professor nearly nodded. He shouted and the first officer came back. He looked surprised at the scene before him, and Alex couldn't help but feel Scott shrink back. The cops scared him. The only thing that stopped Alex from launching himself at the officer was the thought that it wouldn't help Scott.

When they had gone Alex sat down, still holding his brother.

"It's gonna be okay Scotty boy," Alex said, "It's gonna be okay."

"You've said that before," Scott said.

Alex winced, remembering the plane.

"I mean it this time," he said.

Scott managed a small smile. He sat up straighter, his eyes shining with a thought.

"Alex, if we're both okay, do you think mom and dad are too?" he asked.

Alex bit the inside of his cheek.

"Scott..." he said, "They were still in the plane when it went down. They didn't have parachutes."

"But they...they said they didn't find any bodies in Nebraska," he said, "Did they find any where you were?"

"No," Alex said.

"Then, maybe-"

"Scott, no," Alex said.

He knew it was abrupt, but he didn't want to explain the fact that there wouldn't have been anything left of their parents' bodies. The fire would have completely burned them, and he didn't want to think about that.

"Oh," Scott said.

Alex held his brother tighter. Scott looked down.

"I'm scared of fire," he said.

Alex couldn't help but hold his brother closer. What kind of hell was that for Scott to gain powers that could cause fire? He hadn't liked it, but his fear had lasted only a year or so. Still, it might help for Scott to know that he wasn't alone in that fear.

"I was too, for a while," he said.

"You don't shoot stuff out of your eyes that burns stuff down," Scott said.

He paused. Alex looked around before shifting himself so he could unzip his coat a little. That way Scott could see the circular device that he wore on his chest. He took a deep breath and it glowed red, the beginnings of an energy beam beginning in it.

Scott watched, wide-eyed, as Alex stopped it. He managed a smile.

"I'm like you Scott, or you're like me, or whatever," he said, "It's not out of my eyes, but it used to be out of these big rings. Whenever I used it, bad things happened. But now, now I've almost got control of this thing."

"Really?" Scott said.

"Yeah," Alex said, "I almost don't need this thing anymore."

It was true. He'd put in extra hours at the newly-christened "Danger Room," trying his powers with and without his device. The Professor said that he might be as close as a year away from not needing the device anymore.

"My eyes...do you think I can...?" Scott asked.

"Dunno," Alex said, "But if anyone can help you, then it'll be the Professor. He's a good guy Scotty boy."

He smiled and reached to ruffle his brother's hair. Scott shrank back at once. Alex stared at him as Scott relaxed.

"I wasn't gonna hurt ya," he said.

"I know," Scott said.

Alex swallowed. He understood reflexes as well as the next person. He didn't like being touched himself, although he'd been chipping away at that particular reflex. The thought of Scott having that made him sick.

He put his hand on his brother's hair.

"He owns a school, a good one," Alex said, "They even made sure that I got B's in geometry, and you know how much I hated that."

Scott gave a tentative smile. It faded slightly.

"They said they're gonna put me somewhere," he said.

"I know," Alex said.

"Juvenile Detention."

"I know," Alex said.

He closed his eyes.

"I've been there," he said.

He opened his eyes again and saw his brother staring at him.

"Was it because of...?" Scott said, putting a hand on the device strapped to his brother's chest.

"No," Alex said.

He swallowed again. He didn't want to tell his brother this, didn't want Scott to be disappointed in him. Shame like he hadn't felt in years began to weigh down on him. What had he been thinking?

He'd been thinking that there wasn't anyone in the world who cared for him. If that was true, then why should he care about what he did? Now there was someone who did. There was punishment in Scott being alive, but the reward far, far outweighed it.

Alex had to tell him though. He wasn't going to start things off by lying to him.

"When I lost everyone, I got angry, and I took stuff that wasn't mine," he said, "I wasn't good for a while."

"I don't believe that," Scott said.

Alex laughed.

"You wouldn't, would you?" he said.

He looked off into the distance.

"You're not going to Juvenile Detention," Alex said, "One way or another, I'm gonna get you the Institute."

"You mean it?" Scott said, his voice trembling with fear.

Alex smiled at him. His mind screamed out not to promise the impossible. The Professor, usually a boundless well of optimism, had told him that he wasn't sure they would be able to keep Scott. The X-man in him told him that he should follow what the Professor was saying.

The brother in him ignored it.

"I promise," Alex said, "You're not going to Juvenile Detention."

Scott's face lit up. There were footsteps in the hall. Alex quickly zipped up his jacket all the way: it wouldn't do to have anyone see his chest plate. Scott stiffened again, and Alex tightened his grip on his arm. The head officer unlocked the door and the Professor beckoned to the two of them.

"I got Scott out on bail," he said, "We're leaving."

Alex got to his feet, taking Scott with him. He felt jubilant, but he could see the troubled look on the Professor's face. Alex knew they couldn't talk about it just yet, and his eyes moved from the Professor's chair to Scott's hand. He couldn't hold one while pushing the other.

_I am quite capable of getting to the car myself,_ the Professor thought.

_Thanks_, Alex thought.

They began moving down the hallway.

_Don't thank me just yet,_ the Professor thought,_ They're still giving the juvenile courts precedent, as they are legally required to do. _

_What are you saying?_ Alex thought.

_I'm saying that the fight for your brother is far from over. It may just be beginning really. I'd have to convince them that the Institute is a suitable alternative, and after a destroyed building, I'm not sure that they will accept that._

Alex struggled with the thought that he had just found his brother and could soon end up separated from him.

_He's my brother_, Alex thought,_ Would that count for anything with them?_

_We can't prove it. _

_It's too much of a coincidence! We look alike!_ Alex thought, _And we know each other!_

_Yes,_ the Professor thought, _but we have no documentation, and you're not 21. If they were willing to accept that you're his relation, is likely, then you can't take custody and vouch for him. Even if you could, that would be even more difficult than if I did it. He'd have to be a ward of the school, but they might not be willing to listen._

_They have to! _Alex thought.

_No, they don't. Not in their thinking._

Alex looked down at his brother. Scott looked apprehensive, but also hopeful. He'd been through a terrible experience, but Scott thought it was over now. Alex thought of his promise. He meant it more than ever, but it was looking like it might be impossible to keep.

Alex tightened his grip on Scott's hand. He had to make it work, not just for him, not just for Scott, but for their parents. They wouldn't want them to be without each other. They could still fix this. One ignorant and thoughtless government agency had torn them apart. They weren't going to allow that to happen again.

_How long do we have before they come down here?_ Alex thought.

_A week. Maybe a day or two more_, the Professor thought.

_Okay,_ Alex thought, _A week. That should be enough._

It had to be.


	4. Chapter 4

One week was not enough. Alex could feel the panic building up in him as the days passed. He tried to keep up an outward appearance of calm for Scott, but as the time ran out he felt like he was losing him all over again.

They only had three more days. He knew that the Professor was trying everything that he could, but he wasn't making any headway. Scott had already been put to bed, leaving Alex some free time to voice his concerns and hope that there were new developments.

The Professor wasn't too optimistic though. Alex paced the floor of the hotel, trying to calm himself down.

"They still want to send him to the detention center?" he asked, feeling anguished.

"Alex, he blew up a building by means unknown," the Professor said.

"What if we explain his mutation?" Alex asked.

"I had considered that," the Professor said, "But...so little is still known about mutants. The world has no idea what we are."

Alex knew what that meant.

"You're saying it won't help?" he asked.

"It could very well only make things worse at this point," the Professor said.

He rubbed his temples.

"And when they come here, and they find out about his eyes, then it'll get worse anyway," he said.

"I'm afraid that it's a distinct possibility," the Professor said.

Alex turned away and bowed his head.

"And none of your connections are helping?" he asked.

His voice was a plea as he asked a question he already knew the answer to.

"No," the Professor said, "Most of my contacts are scientific and a few low-level politicians. And money only goes so far when things like this happen."

"And...?" Alex said.

He knew the Professor knew what he meant, a question that he couldn't help but ask. It was unethical to ask the Professor to meddle with people's minds for Scott's sake, but he had his suspicions that he'd done it for Raven, or Mystique, or whatever she called herself.

Alex expected the Professor to get angry, or at least be disappointed that he'd ask. Instead he heard:

"The paper trail is too big. I don't know how many people know about this, but it's more than twenty, and they're scattered. I'm sorry."

He swallowed hard and let his eyes drift to the room where Scott was sleeping. He was still trusting in Alex to make things right, and Alex had no ideas to do so. He cursed his promise but, more than that, he cursed his inability to keep it.

"I'd run off with him before I'd let him go there," Alex snapped.

"Then he would be a nine-year-old fugitive," the Professor said, "Is that really what you want for your brother?"

Feeling ashamed and useless, Alex bowed his head again.

"There's nothing we can do?" he pled.

"Unless there's a miracle, then no," the Professor said.

An oppressive silence descended on them. It felt like it was pushing Alex into the ground.

"We have three more days left before they come for Scott," the Professor said, his voice calm but sympathetic, "You'll be able to see him when he gets out, and I'll make sure that you can visit him regularly. Try to make the most of these next few days."

Alex could feel the tears in his eyes and the anguish inside of him. His hand became a fist as he stared at the wall, his emotions building up in him. There was anger there, sadness, but more than anything there was desperation.

The seed of an idea began to form in his head. It was a tenuous one, one that he had no idea if it would work. It was all he had though, and at that moment he was more than willing to clutch at straws.

He felt the Professor's hand on his arm, but Alex shrugged it off. He grabbed his coat and walked to the door.

"I need some fresh air," he said.

Alex slammed the door behind him. It wasn't out of anger, but haste. He took the stairs ten at a time, feeling for the change in his jacket. He reached the hotel's pay phones in a few minutes and began throwing in nickels until he reached the right number.

"Xavier's Institute for Gifted Young-"

"Hank, it's Alex," Alex said.

"Oh, hey," Hank said.

Hank cleared his throat. He'd been briefed on the situation, and had even looked up some legal things for them. His search hadn't been very fruitful.

"Has anything changed?" Hank asked.

"Not a damn thing," Alex said, "Which is why I need you to give me the number."

"Alex, slow down. I don't know-"

"The number Hank. You know which one I mean," Alex said, "I need to make a call."

There was a long pause.

"We've talked about this Alex. Ever since we figured it out. I don't know if this is the best course."

"The Professor told me it would take a miracle to sort this out," Alex said, "Hank, I can't...I can't let him go without a fight. Not when he's depending on me. Not when...not after everything we've been through."

"You're fighting for him now Alex-" Hank said.

"Fighting and losing," Alex said, "Listen to me. I know what it's like to go through Juvenile Detention. They can put him in the nicest place, and someone will find a way to hurt him. We've met each other, and getting separated is going to be pain enough, but he'll get eaten alive in there."

He clenched the phone tighter.

"Hank, please, trust me."

Hank sighed.

"206-786-0981."

"You have it memorized?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Hank said, his voice quiet, "I look at it every so often."

"Thank you," Alex said.

"I hope it works out," Hank said.

Alex heard Hank hang up. Alex took a deep breath. He dialed the digits with trembling fingers. Alex was scared and nervous, but his sense of desperation and loss still pushed him forwards. His heart danced nervously as the phone began ringing.

"Moira MacTaggert."

He closed his eyes and prayed.

"Moira, it's Alex," he said.

There was a silence. His heart sank. She had no idea who he was. The Professor's mind wipe had been complete. They had feared it when they discovered her number, and had talked about it amongst themselves. A year had passed since the Professor had sent her away when they found it. What was the point in dredging up pain?

It appeared that there hadn't been a point. Alex felt his last hope dwindle away, and he got ready to hang up.

"Alex? What, why are you, how do you have my number?"

He could have laughed in his relief. She hadn't forgotten them. He didn't know if the memories had returned over time, or if the Professor had only removed select ones. Either way, it appeared that she knew who he was.

"Hank figured it out," Alex said, "Took him a while though: turns out there are a couple of Moira MacTaggerts in the U.S."

There was another silence. When Moira spoke again, her voice was pained.

"Why are you calling me?"

"I-"

"I was left behind. I'm a liability."

Her voice was tired and bitter. Alex winced.

"Not to us," he said, his voice quiet, "And I don't think to him either."

"Don't," Moira said.

He bit his lip.

"We didn't agree," he said, "They'd want me to tell you that if they all knew that I'd made contact. We didn't get a voice in the decision, and we were angry, but there was nothing that we could do. Please believe that we didn't want that to happen to you."

"And now it's two years later," Moira said.

She didn't sound as bitter as before, more curious.

"Like I said, it took Hank a while," Alex said, "And then we thought that, maybe you wouldn't want to talk to us, and that it would be painful, but, we never really got rid of the number."

"And why now?" Moira said.

He took a deep breath.

"When I was younger I had a little brother," Alex said, the words rushing out, "I thought he died in an airplane crash with my parents. We found him a week ago. He...his mutation is similar to mine. It manifested suddenly and he accidentally blew up a building. They want to put him in a juvenile detention facility."

There was a pause. He knew that it would take a while to sink in. Alex didn't blame Moira: there was a lot to process.

"And you can't get him to Wes...the...the place..."

Her voice became confused towards the end. Alex gritted his teeth: so that was what the Professor had removed.

"No, and we've tried," Alex said, "They're coming in three days."

"And you want me to help."

He sighed. She had always been smart.

"I don't know if you can, but I need to know if it's possible," Alex said, "Moira, he's young, and he's gentle, and that kind of thing can get him into a lot of trouble where he's going. I know."

"Alex, I'm sorry about what's happening. I really am. But I'm CIA," Moira said, "I'm not child services."

"I know, I know," Alex said, "But..."

He cursed himself for what he was about to say, but he had to explain.

"You are literally my last chance," Alex said, "I have nowhere else to turn and you guys got me out of jail for crissake."

"That was a special op," Moira said, "Trust me, they're never going to give me that kind of power again."

A part of him felt cold. They'd punished her. She'd helped them, and they'd punished her. She'd been abandoned by her country, and then by them. How could he ask another burden, something that, if traced back to her, could only damage her career further?

He dug his nails into the payphone and thought of his brother. He had to try.

"Okay, I understand," he said, "Moira, I am begging you to at least look into it. I know that you've sacrificed a lot to protect us, more than we deserved, and I know that you don't owe us a damn thing. If anything we owe you."

He swallowed.

"But Moira, Scott and I, we're all each other have," Alex said, "And after thinking we had no one for so long...Moira, I can't let this happen to him. Please."

There was a another silence. It stretched on for a long time. She hadn't hung up though: there was no dial tone. Alex continued to wait as the minutes ticked by. He put another nickel in. It was his last one. Alex almost swore at his lack of change.

At long last he heard her sigh.

"I'm not sure if I can do anything," she said, "But I'll look into it."

Alex closed his eyes.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't thank me just yet. Name and location?" she asked.

"Scott Summers. Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha Meadow Springs Orphanage," Alex said, "This went down on the twenty-fourth."

He heard a pen scratching on the other end.

"That should be enough for a start," Moira said.

He almost laughed.

"I think I'm gonna go back and punch the Professor in the face," he said.

Moira chuckled on the other end, a weak, tired sound.

"Don't and...don't tell him you called me," she said.

"It might do him some good to know how much you risk for us," Alex said.

This time there was only a long breath.

"I don't know how I feel about what happened," Moira said, "And I don't want to force a resolution before I know. But, Alex?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"It's not about whether or not we owe each other," she said, "I'll always want to protect you all."

She hung up. Alex let go of the phone and bowed his head until it touched the top of the payphone.


	5. Chapter 5

Scott held tightly onto his brother's hand as they walked up to the palatial structure in front of them. He knew that he was too big to be holding people's hands, but he needed some sort of reassurance.

Just yesterday he'd been in Omaha, waiting for the go ahead so they could leave. He'd never had any doubt as to what would happen. His brother had sworn that he would take care of him, and that he'd get him to a school where he could learn to control the stuff that came out of his eyes. Scott couldn't help but believe his brother.

He couldn't help but feel intimidated by his surroundings though. The lawn was so pristine and the building big. He'd been in big buildings before, but not ones that looked so nice. If not for Alex's hand he wasn't sure that he'd be able to take the necessary steps towards it.

"Hey, Professor," Alex said, "Want me to-?"

"As I've said many times before, I can push myself," the Professor said, "By all means, give your brother a tour."

Alex grinned.

"Come on Scotty boy," he said, "Let's get you to your room."

Alex swung Scott's suitcase nonchalantly and opened the door with his elbow. He acted as though the whole thing was completely normal, like there was nothing amiss with what he was doing. He acted like he belonged. Scott squared his shoulders and tried to follow his lead.

The lobby was huge, the ceiling at least ten times Scott's height. There were rich trappings everywhere, and he could hear children's laughter in the distance. He had to fight not to shrink away from the noise. Alex had told him that there weren't that many other students. It had relieved him. The less people the better.

Alex led him up the stairs, away from the noise. Soon Scott became dizzy from counting the different stairways. Although no corridor looked the same, there were too many different paintings, statues, and plants, it was complicated. He was going to get lost trying to find his way out.

His brother seemed to read his mind.

"It's kinda overwhelming at first, but it's not so bad after you get used to it," Alex said.

"How long will that be?" Scott said.

"About a week?" Alex shrugged.

He stopped in front of a door. Alex put down his suitcase and knocked on the door.

"This is your room," he said.

He took a step sideways and knocked on the door next to it.

"And this is my room," he said.

Scott couldn't help but smile.

"You're really close," he said.

"We had a spare room," Alex said, "And, unless we have some sort of overcrowding problem, this room is all yours. Got it?"

Scott blinked. He hadn't had his own room in, well, ever. Even at their parent's house they had shared a room. Scott hadn't minded, he was five at the time, but now it seemed like a special gift.

"Lemme get the door," Alex said.

The door swung inwards. The room looked and smelled clean. There was a thick carpet on the floor. The pillow on the bed looked fluffy, and there was a thick comforter on top of it. Light was streaming in through the window, and he could see kids playing on the lawn outside.

Scott took a few tentative steps forwards.

"I got your bag," Alex said.

His brother tossed Scott's suitcase on his bed. It looked woefully small compared to the wardrobe that Scott had just noticed. He knew for a fact that his clothes wouldn't fill it. They wouldn't even come close.

Once more his brother seemed to read his mind.

"If you need anything, we can go out shopping," Alex said, "The Professor's technically our legal guardian, and he has a kind of fund set up for kids like us."

"Like us?" Scott asked.

"Kids who can't pay for the school," Alex said, "Kids who can't pay for anything really. I think that I pay for at least my board by fixing up some of the Professor's cars. His stepfather was something of a collector apparently."

He shrugged.

"Hank, you'll be meeting him soon, can do a lot of things, but he can't do cars," Alex said, "And he sure as hell can't do motor bikes. Anyway, it's not important."

His brother rubbed his chin.

"And that's actually something I need to talk to you about," he said.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"Hank. He's a great guy, pretty geeky," Alex said, "but a good guy. And um...well..."

His brother scrunched up his eyes. Alex had told him a few stories about his friends on the way up. The plane ride had been awesome, although they'd had to park it at another building and drive from there. His brother had told him that Hank had built the plane and called it the Blackbird. It sounded like a cool name.

"Not everyone here has powers like us," Alex said.

"You told me," Scott said.

"I know I told you, but I think I might have to emphasize that when it comes to Hank," Alex said, "He's a little self-conscious."

"Why?" Scott asked.

"Well..." Alex said.

He gestured to himself.

"Hank looks kind of like a lion and is covered in blue fur," he said, "And he's got yellow eyes."

Scott gaped.

"What?" he asked.

"Yeah," Alex said, "It's a little startling when you see it at first, but he's a great guy. You just...just don't stare at him too long or anything like that. He doesn't leave the Institute very often, and only when he has to. People are assholes."

His brother smiled.

"He's different like us, but different from that too," Alex said, "Just don't be too surprised if you come across him or anyone else like him here."

"Okay," Scott said.

The information was strange. He hadn't really thought about the idea of mutants too much. Scott had accepted it as the reason for why he and his brother were the way they were. He knew the Professor had a different mutation, so he knew they could be different, but he hadn't thought that they could be that different.

Alex clapped his hands together.

"The Professor and I'll get your classes sorted," he said, "Not that you'll start classes until Monday, but we need to take a look at it. If there's anything that you want to take, just tell me, and I'll see what I can do."

"Got it," Scott said.

"You don't have any catch-up to do, which is good," Alex said, "The Professor told me that it looks like you kept up with your schooling, which is a helluva lot more than I can say that I did in the past couple of years, so you're on track."

"That's cause I'm smarter than you," Scott said.

"You've got one helluva mouth on you Scotty boy," Alex said.

He punched Scott in the shoulder, but not hard. Scott grinned at him, and there was a knock on the door.

"Whattya want?" Alex called.

"It's uh, it's Sean."

Alex sighed. Scott felt like sighing a little too. He'd hoped it was Hank. He was curious to find out exactly what a furry blue lion man with yellow eyes looked like.

"Duty calls," his brother said, "Start unpacking, and I'll be back in a minute to show you around the rest of the Institute."

Scott nodded. He turned to his suitcase and Alex walked out the door. Scott began to take out his shirts and count them. There were only four, five if he counted the one he was wearing. Some of them were a little threadbare, and he hoped they could get some more soon. He didn't know what the other kids were wearing, and he didn't want to start school with threadbare clothes if he could help it.

"What's up?"

He looked back at the door. He saw that his brother hadn't closed it properly, and he could hear some of the conversation.

"I hear...Hank told me that you talked to Moira," Sean said, his voice awkward.

Scott tried not to hear the conversation as he put away his shirts, but he couldn't help it.

"I did," Alex said, "It turns out she pulled a few files, switched a few things around, pretty much worked a miracle. She made them think it was more trouble than it was worth. And that's all the Professor thinks it is."

"You mean-?"

"Yeah, that's what I mean," Alex said, "He can't know. She doesn't want him to."

Scott pulled out his pants and put them in one of the drawers in the wardrobe. So far it looked like everything he owned would fit in exactly one drawer. Maybe one and a half if he put his books in a separate drawer.

"How...how's she doing?" Sean asked.

"I think she's doing alright," Alex said, "As well as can be expected anyway. We should've called earlier."

"We talked about that."

Curiosity began to stir. Who was Moira? Why couldn't they tell the Professor? Scott knew he couldn't ask, he'd often gotten into trouble for eavesdropping, accidental or not, but still. He couldn't help but want to know more.

"I know we did, and I think we came out with the wrong answer," Alex said, "After everything, she still put her neck out for us. Just think about it all, and then look me in the eye and tell me that we made the right call."

Sean sighed.

"Maybe not," he said.

"Maybe?"

"Alright, we didn't," Sean said, "What are we supposed to do about it now?"

"Call her every few weeks. Maybe a month. Let her know we're still alive."

Scott pulled out his socks.

"How are we supposed to keep that from the Professor?"

"I don't know. I'll figure it out later," Alex said, "I haven't talked to Hank yet. We all need to talk about it together."

"The Professor'll flip his lid if he finds out."

As he laid out his socks Scott couldn't help but feel even more confused. His brother always spoke highly of the Professor. Scott felt nothing but respect for the man who'd helped his brother get him away from the orphanage and built such an amazing school. Why were they doing something that would make him angry?

"Look, he didn't give us a choice, so we're returning the favor," Alex said, "Just think about it, and come back to me on it. I've kind of got my hands full right now."

"Right. I hope your brother settles in well," Sean said.

"He will. He's smart," Alex said.

"Well, compared to you there's nowhere to go but up," Sean said.

"Watch it."

Sean laughed.

"Okay, okay. I'll see you later," he said.

"See you later."

There were a few more noises and Scott finished unpacking. His brother came back in and Scott considered asking him what all that had been about. In the end he decided against it. His brother must have his reasons for doing what he was doing.

"All done?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Scott said.

"Hmm," Alex said.

He buckled up Scott's suitcase and put it in the wardrobe. He shut the doors and looked back at Scott.

"Now that that's done, what's say you and I get some grub?" Alex asked, "It's almost lunch time, and they make some great macaroni and cheese down in the cafeteria. I'm never sure just who makes it, but it's good."

Scott nodded.

"Sounds great," he said.


	6. Chapter 6

"Have any eights?" Alex asked.

Scott shook his head. He lay sprawled out on his stomach on the rug of the library. Not many students hung out there at night, preferring the lounge. There was a TV there. Alex was quickly learning that his brother wasn't one for TV though.

It was one of the new things that he was learning about Scott.

"Go fish," Scott said.

Alex drew from the pile of cards. He tried not to wince as he stretched out his arm. Scott didn't notice the momentary stiffness in his brother's fingers, but Sean did. The two of them shared a quick look before Sean redirected his attention to the game. He looked over Scott's shoulder from his position on the couch.

He knew full well what his friend was seeing. Scott only had one card to Alex's seven, and three more pairs. He saw the smirk form on his friend's face.

"Nice," Sean said, "You're not great at this game, are you Alex?"

"Shut up Sean," Alex snapped.

"Do you have any fives?" Scott said.

"Shit," Alex said.

He tossed Scott a five. Scott placed it with his other card and laid them down.

"I win," Scott said, grinning.

"Okay, okay, you win again," Alex said, "Big deal."

"That's, what, the fifteenth time in a row a nine-year-old's beat you?" Sean asked.

"Thought I told you to shut up," Alex said.

He pushed himself up on the rug.

"Scott, didya get your science homework done?" he asked.

"Maybe," Scott said.

"Not maybe, go get it done for good," Alex said, "And then brush your teeth before you go to bed, got it?"

Scott stuck his tongue out at him before jumping to his feet. He walked off and Alex began to pick up the cards.

"You're kinda more like a dad then a big brother to him sometimes," Sean said.

Alex stiffened and tossed the cards in the box.

"I just want my little brother to get stuff done," he snapped, "Is that some sort of crime now?"

"Hey, take it easy," Sean said, his voice defensive, "A guy can make an observation, can't he?"

He cleared his throat.

"And uh, speaking of observations," he said, "How's your arm doing?"

Alex sighed and rolled his shoulder. There was some sort of situation going on with Erik's group, and he was starting to see Emma more frequently, but only with Janos. Hank had theorized that they were breaking apart, but they weren't sure.

Either way Alex had nearly had his arm broken by her yesterday. He hated her diamond skin. The only reason she wasn't messing with their minds was because of all the wards the Professor had put up. It just meant that he walked away from their fights with a terrible headache.

He flexed his fingers and rolled his shoulder again. It was supposed to help release tension, although all he could feel was his aching muscles.

"Hank says it's just a slight sprain," he said, "Hurts like a bitch though, and it's bruising pretty bad."

"Really?" Sean asked.

Alex rolled up his sleeve. Most of it was bandaged up to support the sprain, but the bruise was visible through some of the gauze. A large, nasty black and purple bruise spread from his upper arm past his elbow.

"Shit," Sean said.

"You can say that again," Alex said, rolling down his sleeve, "Now I either come up with a great cover story or wear long sleeves for the next coupla weeks."

Sean gave him a long look.

"Your brother know?" he asked.

"About what?" Alex asked.

"You know, the X-men," he said.

Alex raised his eyebrows.

"No," he said, "Duh."

"Okay, I get the no," Sean said, "Not the duh."

Alex stretched and rolled his eyes.

"Obviously I haven't told my brother I belong to a group of vigilantes that protects mutantkind," Alex said.

"We're more like a militia," Sean said.

Lowering his arms Alex gave Sean an odd look.

"You've been talking to Hank too much," he said.

"We are more like a militia," Sean muttered.

"That makes it sound like we know what we're doing," Alex said, "We learned most of our combat stuff from books and having to make sure we don't die. Not people."

"We do kinda know what we're doing," Sean said, "But that's kinda besides the point. I mean, why doesn't Scott know?"

"The rest of the school doesn't know. Why should he?" Alex asked.

Now it was Sean's turn to roll his eyes.

"He's your kid brother," he said, "I don't have any brothers, I mean, I have a cousin that I'm kinda close with, but I'm just sayin that I'd want to know if my older brother was involved in some dangerous stuff."

Alex cocked his head.

"Has it occurred to you that that's exactly why I'm not telling him?" he said, his voice low.

Sean waited and Alex sighed.

"Scott's a good kid," he said, "But I don't think that he's in a place where telling him something like that would be a great idea. Do you hear what I'm saying?"

"Still don't," Sean said.

Alex stared at the carpet, irritation mounting.

"No matter what we do or say, Scott's still a kid," he said, "And kids don't like it when this kind of stuff goes down. I worry enough about something happening to him without him worrying the same damn thing about me."

Sean began tapping his hand against his armrest.

"Alex, if something ever happens to you, what are we supposed to tell him?" he asked.

Alex shot him a sharp look. He wanted to tell Sean to buzz off, but there was genuine concern in his face. He sighed.

"Will cross that bridge when we come to it, which we won't," he said.

"Okay, your decision," Sean said.

"Damn right," Alex said.

Sean shrugged. They heard a knock on the door. Alex sighed. There were only two people in the entire Institute who knocked, and he knew that Hank was downstairs working on improvements for the Blackbird.

"Come in Professor," he said.

The Professor wheeled in and smiled.

"You don't have to have any telepathic capabilities, do you?" he asked.

Alex grinned back. Sean looked at the clock.

"Shit, it's that late?" he asked, "I have a test with Miss Mahn tomorrow!"

"Didja study?" Alex asked.

"No," Sean said.

"Then you're screwed," Alex said.

"Not if I start cramming now," he said.

He jumped off of the couch and headed for the door. He sidestepped the Professor before he hurried out of the room.

"Night guys!" he said.

The Professor chuckled as he shut the door.

"Sean does have his peculiarities, doesn't he?" the Professor asked.

"I wouldn't call them something as nice as peculiarities," Alex said.

The Professor nearly smiled. He settled near Alex and Alex looked up.

"Something up?" he asked.

"Sort of," the Professor said, "Your brother has been here for two months now, hasn't he?"

"Yeah," Alex said.

"Which means that it's been nearly three months since I first broached the idea of you becoming a teacher here," the Professor said.

Alex shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"I assumed that we would discuss matters for the last time after the recruitment trip, but I thought that, given circumstances, it would be best to delay it," the Professor said, "I thought that two months would be sufficient."

Truthfully, Alex hadn't thought much about the Professor's offer. Scott had taken up a lot of his thoughts after they'd gotten back, and then there had been a few fights with Erik's people. He turned the card box over in his hands a few times, feeling uncertain.

"Alex, I know what it seems like," the Professor said, "But I'm truly not trying to pressure you into being a teacher here. I simply think that you have the potential to do so. I've never understood your insistence that you didn't have it in you."

"It's not exactly that I don't think I have it in me," Alex said, "Not exactly."

The Professor folded his hands in his lap. It was one of his first signs of being patient, of being willing to listen no matter how long the explanation was going to be. For the first time in his memory, it made Alex nervous.

"Look, a long time ago I used to be a really dependable guy," he said, "I was the one who got my room clean on time and ate all my vegetables. I mean, I still drew on the walls and stuff, but I got things done when I was told to do them. I figured I was gonna be just like my...gonna be just like...like..."

He swallowed.

"Just like my dad," he said, "I admired him a ton. He was a pilot during the war, like, a good one. He had lots of medals that my mom got framed. Couple of purple hearts. And I thought that I could be a pilot like him."

"And that's why you don't want to be a teacher," the Professor said.

"No," Alex said, "It's not that."

He stared at the rug.

"I mean, you say a lot of things about what you wanna be when you're younger, and I think I said pilot to make my dad happy," he explained, "I mean, I think my dad wanted one of us to follow his footsteps, something like that. But...after he died...after my mom died...after I thought Scott died..."

Alex fought the urge to stop talking. He could still feel the Professor's patient eyes one him, waiting to hear the rest of his explanation. It made him feel good while simultaneously being intimidating. He wasn't used to unburdening himself like this.

"I didn't want to be anything," Alex said.

"You lost your future," the Professor said.

Alex looked up. He hadn't thought to phrase it that way, but somehow it made sense.

"Just like you lost your sense of direction," the Professor said, "Alex...I can't say that I'm an expert on human nature. What I do know is that we have a habit of tying our futures and our identities to people. If they're precious to us, then it makes it even more difficult. It makes us feel like we fail them later in life when we can't get everything done right. And if we lose them..."

His voice became sad. Alex looked down again.

"We lose our way too sometimes," the Professor said, "It's why we want to hold onto people so tightly, because we can't envision our future without them."

A treacherous thought made its way to Alex's lips. If that was true, then why'd he let Moira go? Alex clamped down on it at the last second. He wasn't going to bombard the Professor with questions when he was trying to help him.

"You didn't think that you had a future for a long time, and I understand that it can take more than a few years to understand that you do," the Professor said, "But your brother is alive again. You've been given a second chance that few have received."

"I know," Alex said.

"I understand," the Professor said, But "I simply want to remind you that you do have a future, and that it's approaching quickly. You don't have to be a teacher if you don't want to, but you're going to have to be something. I want you to want something Alex."

Alex swallowed. He glanced around the room.

"I'll tell you soon," he said, "I just...I just can't right now."

"I understand," the Professor said.


	7. Chapter 7

Scott looked over the top of his book. The rest of his class had their heads bent down, absorbed in the books that they were reading. He quite liked his classes, but they made him feel nervous. Classes tended to be small since there weren't many students, but he was in one of the higher reading groups so some of the students in his class were a year or two older.

Overall he wasn't anything remarkable, and he didn't think that he belonged in a higher reading group. However, his solitary time in the orphanage had given him a love of books. He'd been desperate to get away with everything that had been happening in his life, and he'd been more than happy to take an easy way out.

He'd heard a few whispers when he'd originally started classes. He was one of the younger ones there and he knew that both his glasses and his status as Alex's brother had caused comment. A few students had tried to talk to him, but he'd instinctively shrunk away.

Alex had told him that he could make friends in his own time, but he knew that he was worrying his brother with his lack of friends. Alex had asked him if he was being bullied once or twice, and Scott had shaken his head. He just wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to other kids. He'd been there for a few months, and the place didn't quite feel like home yet.

Being with his brother was awesome though. His friends were cool. He'd finally met Hank. It wasn't as freaky as he'd thought it would be. Sure, Hank was unusual, but he reminded Scott more of a teddy bear than anything else. A teddy bear with glasses at that.

Hank had also been the one who had given him his glasses. Alex told him that he was some sort of inventor, a kind of scientist. Scott didn't really understand. The fact that he'd made his glasses made Scott like him though. He'd made something that could stop his eyes from causing damage, from making fire.

He was still scared of fire. The memory of the plane was very vivid. He'd wondered sometimes why he was afraid of fire and not of flying. He'd always thought that it might have been because his father had always taken them up in the sky on weekends. The pure, happy memories he had of flying were just enough to overcome any fears he might have associated with it otherwise. Fire was different.

Sean was also fun. He was goofy and clumsy, and that often led to funny situations. He'd thought that they were funny at least. The Professor hadn't been too happy when all those things in the library had broken. Alex told him that Sean was frequently clumsy.

He'd been told that he could fly, and he didn't need a plane. It was something about his mutation. He didn't understand how screaming like Sean did could help him fly. Hank had tried to explain it to him, but it had just left him even more confused. Alex had told him to give Scott a break, and the explanation had dropped off. So Scott still didn't know how Sean could fly.

He tried not to tag along with his brother and his friends too much. His brother might not mind, but he was worried that Sean and Hank might get annoyed with him. They went off with his brother every now and then and told Scott that he had to stay behind. They also went out past his bedtime, and Alex had said it was part of an experiment Hank was doing charting the stars. It was certainly a long experiment.

Scott had seen that his brother had a few unusual scars and bruises too. The scars were easy enough to dismiss. Alex told him that he'd been in a lot of fights when he was in his foster home. The bruises didn't make any sense though. He hoped his brother wasn't getting into any fights there, and it certainly didn't look like it. It was just an odd mystery, one that was starting to bug him.

He looked down at his book. Scott knew that he should be concentrating. He wasn't sure just how he felt about Dickens yet. Scott had a sinking feeling that the book was a little above his reading level, and that he could very well be in trouble for the next test.

"Okay," Mr. Guthrie said, "Close your books. I expect that ya'll have read the next chapter by the time I see ya'll. Got it?"

There were a few dutiful nods. The other students got up and began filing out. Mr. Guthrie looked at his watch and shook his head before leaving. Scott got to his feet and started shoving his books into his backpack. He preferred not to hurry since he didn't have any other classes.

"Scotty boy!"

Scott looked up. Alex walked into the room, leaning on the doorframe.

"Done with class?" he asked.

"We just finished up," Scott said.

"Great," Alex said, "I was just showing Ororo here around."

"Who?" Scott said.

"Me."

A girl with dark skin and white hair walked so she was standing next to Alex. She folded her arms and stared at him. She was about a year older than him, and she looked more than a little impatient. He wondered if she wanted him to speak. When he didn't she jutted her chin up.

"I'm new," she said.

"Me too, kind of," Scott said.

"Scott's our newest student," Alex said, "He's only been here a coupla months."

Ororo chewed on her lip for a moment, looking between Alex and Scott.

"You two related?" she asked.

Scott beamed with pride. She could tell.

"He's my little brother," Alex said.

Ororo nodded and looked over at Scott.

"I have a nephew," she said, "Not really the same thing. He's four years younger than me."

"That's not much," Scott said.

"My sister is super old," Ororo said.

She walked forwards and began to look at Mr. Guthrie's desk. Alex stepped a little closer into the room.

"Feel free to look around," Alex said, "Just tell me when you want to move on."

"Sure," Ororo said.

She walked to the other side of the classroom and looked outside the window. Scott took in the look of her simple dress, the calm assurance with which she looked out the window. He could tell that a lot of it was affected. It was what a lot of the kids at the orphanage did when they were frightened.

He wondered what it was that had scared her.

"So, how are your classes going?" Alex asked.

"Fine," Scott said, "Not too interesting."

Alex nodded. He paused for a minute and cleared his throat.

"Hey, I was wondering about something," he said.

"What?" Scott asked.

Alex tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him.

"Scott, you like it here, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scott said.

He was surprised that it was even a question.

"If I were to work here when I got older, what would you think?" Alex said.

"As what?" Scott asked.

Alex chuckled, but the sound didn't have a lot of humor in it.

"A teacher," he said, "I probably wouldn't teach anything big, but we need more teachers here. The Professor wants to start taking in more kids. You and Ororo came in pretty fast."

His brother lowered his voice.

"Still, if what the Professor said about Ororo is true, then she really needed to come here."

"Why?" Scott said, lowering his voice as well.

It wasn't as though Ororo didn't have any family. She'd plainly told Scott that she'd had a sister who was much older than her a few minutes ago. She could have taken care of her if something had happened to her parents.

Alex made a face. It wasn't one of disgust, more one of confusion.

"I didn't really understand everything that the Professor was saying," he said, "Something about some shadow guy. Weird stuff. Her parents died and her sister didn't know about it for months. She's technically her legal guardian, but the Professor managed to get Ororo down here."

Alex shrugged again.

"Either way, the Professor wants to take in more students," he said, "He wants to have tons. Probably wants to renovate. He's gonna have to if he wants to have more than a hundred students here."

He shook his head.

"And he needs more teachers, so I'd be kind of filling in that gap."

"Do you wanna be a teacher?" Scott said.

His brother frowned and folded his arms. He looked a little distant. His eyes flickered from Ororo to Scott.

"I think I'm suited for it," he said, "A teacher and a sort of counselor. I used to think because I'd been a criminal, because I'd been in the foster system, that I wouldn't be able to help kids very much."

Scott hated it when his brother used the word criminal. He was sure that he'd done some things, Alex had told him, but he was sure that his brother wasn't a criminal. Alex wasn't that sort of person, and he'd punch anyone who said differently.

"But then you came back, and it made me really think that there were kids out there who'd been in the same position that I had, that you had," Alex said, "And then there's Ororo."

"What about Ororo?" Scott asked.

Alex was about to answer, but then he saw his brother's eyes narrow.

"Put it back Ororo," he said.

She looked up, her eyes wide and innocent.

"What?" she asked.

"I said put it back," Alex said, his voice stern, "The Professor offered you a chance at a new life, and part of that agreement meant that you were going to leave the old one behind."

Ororo bit her lip. She took out a paperweight from her pocket. Scott recognized it from Mr. Guthrie's desk.

"Ororo," his brother said, his voice softer, "I know you probably did it without thinking. I did a lot of stuff without thinking even after I got out of that place. But you have to try, okay? No one is going to tolerate thievery here, and you don't need to do it to survive anymore. You're just doing it to do it."

Ororo looked thoughtfully at the paperweight. She put it back and turned towards Alex with worried eyes.

"You're not going to tell the Professor, are you?" she asked.

"You're not going to do it again, are you?" Alex asked.

She shook her head.

"Then no," Alex said, "Not unless you do it again. And this isn't one of, those things that only happens if I catch you, because I will catch you. I've been where you've been."

He smiled.

"So I know you can get over it," he said.

Ororo nodded. Alex grinned at her, and Scott suddenly realized exactly what had happened. He might hate to think of his brother as a criminal, but that was what he'd been. He'd done some bad things, things he regretted.

Scott watched as Alex walked over and put his hand on Ororo's shoulder escorting her to the front of the room. Although Alex obviously regretted what he'd done, he was using that now. He told Ororo that he understood her, and he did. He knew things that Scott would never know, understood people in a way that Scott couldn't. The years apart had given them both a different view on life, experiences had hardened his brother and made Scott frightened.

His brother looked up at him and gave a hollow grin. He didn't look proud that he understood Ororo.

"Wanna help me show Ororo the grounds?" Alex asked.

"Sure," Scott said.

They fell into line with each other. Scott pulled on his brother's arm.

"Yeah?" Alex asked.

"You're gonna be a good teacher," Scott said.

His brother's grin became sincere.

"Thanks Scotty boy."


	8. Chapter 8

"-and that's about it really," Alex said.

He heard Moira laugh on the other end of the line.

"I highly doubt that it's ever that simple with all of you," she said.

Her tone was fond and Alex couldn't help but smile. He glanced over at Sean and Hank, who were standing close by. They'd each taken turns talking to Moira, just like they had every month since he'd first come back, determined not to shut her out anymore. He was being more responsible with his life now, and that meant protesting decisions he didn't agree with.

It also meant declaring his intention to go out for his teaching certificate. He'd remembered feeling nervous when he said it, but the nervousness went away when he saw the proud way that the Professor looked at him. It felt odd that he felt joy at having the Professor being proud of him while simultaneously disobeying his orders. It didn't really matter that they were unspoken. He knew they existed.

He supposed that he'd never promised to follow any disastrous decisions the Professor made. Everyone made mistakes, and no one said that Alex had to make them too. So he'd brought up the subject with the rest of the X-men again. Hank had decided against using the school's phone, that would be too obvious. He had, however, built a phone which scrambled their signal.

Sean had started calling it the "Moiraphone" and Alex thought it was appropriate. Hank didn't.

"How's your brother?" Moira asked.

"He's doing good," Alex said, "Made some friends."

He'd specifically made one friend. Ororo, for all of her brash ways, had decided that Scott was going to be her friend. His scared and solitary manner didn't seem to dissuade her any from her decision. Scott didn't have the ability or will to refuse any offer of friendship, so the two were often seen hanging out together.

It made Alex happy that his brother was fitting in. Soon they'd have to give him some lessons on working with his powers.

"I'm glad to hear it," Moira said.

She cleared her throat.

"How's Charles?" she asked.

Her voice was hesitant, almost tired. She'd refrained from asking the question for a long time, possibly because she assumed that they would tell her if anything was wrong. He paused and looked over at Hank and Sean. They both frowned at what he knew his expression was: lost and confused.

_She asked about the Professor_, he mouthed.

Their eyes widened.

"Alex?" Moira asked.

Alex coughed. He wished that Hank or Sean had been the ones on the phone when she asked. They wouldn't have been any better at answering her than he was, but they weren't him, so that would have made it better. Alex weighed his options for a moment, hoping that, for once, he could come up with a delicate answer.

"He's kinda…work-oriented," he said.

He heard Moira shift the phone.

"I'd imagine he would be, with the school growing," she said.

There was no trace of bitterness in her voice. Somehow it made things worse.

"He um, he goes out to get more students a lot," Alex offered, feeling like his explanation wasn't enough, "Other than that he's still boring."

Moira laughed.

"No one would call anything that you all do boring," she said.

There were a few shuffling noises on the other end.

"I think that I need to get going," Moira said, "I'll talk to you all next month."

"Hey," Alex said.

He could almost hear her frown.

"We uh, we were all talking," Alex said, "And we felt that…well…if you ever need any help, anything like that, if you ever find yourself in any trouble then um…feel free to call us."

Moira breathed in sharply. They had discussed it amongst themselves. Alex knew that the offer was probably coming too late. If she'd needed them for anything, then it would've been when her career was falling to pieces. She had never told them about the fallout, but there were a few things that made him suspect that things might not have gone so well. One thing was the fact that she didn't seem to work three days a week.

Alex didn't know what her current job status was, obviously she'd been in a position to help Scott, but that didn't mean much. He'd always thought that she was pretty high up when they'd first met. At least that's what it had looked like. If Cuba had panned out perfectly then she might've been up for a big promotion. While Shaw had been stopped, Erik had still shot at the US and Russian fleets. Alex didn't think that qualified as panning out.

She'd still helped them though. That one simple fact had stuck in Alex's mind, playing like a broken record. They'd done nothing for her, given her nothing. If anything they had taken from her, and she'd still helped them. It had sucked that, while she'd come to their aid, she didn't know that they'd do the same for her. She needed to know that.

He waited, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Alex…I can't come there," she said, "I can't even remember where you all are."

"I know," Alex said, "But you know our number."

He laughed.

"Or you know the number of the Moiraphone," Alex said.

"Stop calling it that," Hank hissed.

Alex laughed again.

"So, if you need us, call us," he said.

There was a small sigh on the other end.

"Thanks Alex," she said, "All of you."

He nodded, feeling triumphant. Maybe they'd given her something after all.

"I really do have to go now though," Moira said.

"Okay," Alex said, "Talk to you in a month."

He hung up. Alex caught Hank looking over his shoulder towards the door. He sighed.

"Will you stop that?" he asked.

"I can't help being a little cautious," Hank said, "We're trying to keep secrets from a telepath Alex."

"Yeah, one who doesn't go poking around in our heads unless we ask him to," Alex said.

"Or he needs to," Sean said.

"Will you stop being so paranoid?" Alex said.

He leaned against the table.

"Don't go backing out on me you guys," he said, "You told me what happened with Moira didn't sit right with you. Changing your minds?"

"No," Hank said.

His friend crossed his arms.

"I would just feel a little more comfortable if the Professor knew," he said.

"If we could tell him, then he'd agree, and if he'd agree then Moira would be here," Alex said.

He made a face.

"Still pisses me off," he said.

"Yeah, we know," Sean said.

"Don't say it like it doesn't piss you off," Alex said.

Sean threw his hands up.

"Dude, we're all on your side here!" he said, "We agree with you!"

"Good!" Alex snapped.

Hank raised his eyebrows.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Of course I'm okay," Alex said.

He rubbed his temples.

"Doesn't it just…doesn't it bother you that we have more contact with the people who try to kill us on a daily basis than the people who help us?" Alex asked.

"Erik hasn't tried to kill us," Sean said.

Alex looked over at him. Sean sounded uncertain.

"Then he's accidentally tried to," Alex said.

"Emma's the one trying to kill us," Hank said, "Erik…I'm not really sure what it is Erik's trying to do. He's mostly just avoiding us."

"We're two groups of mutants completely opposed to what the other thinks," Alex said, "And we both know how to fight. I don't think that we're going to be able to avoid each other very much."

Hank cocked his head.

"I don't think this is about Moira," he said, "At least, not right now."

Alex wanted to tell him to shut up, but then he saw Hank's expression.

"Maybe not," he admitted, "But…I've signed up to this now, okay? At least for another ten years, between college and a few years of teaching. So I've been thinking..."

He kicked the floor.

"I've been thinking about doing this for ten years, imagining what it'll be like in ten years from now-" he said.

"I don't think it'll take that long to figure something out," Sean said.

Alex sighed, wondering if his friend knew how hopelessly naïve he sounded. He caught Hank's eye, as well as his expression. It appeared that he was thinking about it as well.

"It might take another ten years," Hank said, "It might take longer."

"Hey, nothing takes that long," Sean said.

"Ever heard of something called the Cold War?" Alex said.

Sean made a face and fell silent. Alex rubbed his temples again, feeling a headache coming on.

"I can't help but feel like we need to start going on the offensive a bit more," he said, "Stop reacting to what they're doing and more…anticipating it."

"Maybe," Hank said.

He gave Alex a searching look.

"Anything else you're not telling us?" he asked.

Alex hesitated, unsure whether or not he should say anything. Then again, why not? He wasn't sure he wanted to share his views with the Professor, they were somewhat frightening, and Sean and Hank were his best friends. He could feel the world shrinking around them, almost as though a noose were tightening around their necks.

"Scott's here now," Alex said.

"Scott doesn't know about the X-men," Sean said, "You made that idea pretty clear, which is dumb."

"It's not dumb," Alex said, "He's here, and I'm not gonna let him get hurt."

He wanted to say that it wasn't the main reason for his new outlook, his decision for his future career had started it, but touring the school with Ororo had solidified it. Alex had to protect Scott. Erik was threatening any chance mutants had of being peacefully accepted. The world wasn't safe, and that definitely meant that Scott wasn't safe.

Sean's eyes widened.

"You don't think-"

"No, I don't think Erik would attack the school or anything," Alex said, "But we're, we're part of this fight. I don't want my brother mixed up in any of that. What's it going to be like in ten years? What's gonna happen to Scott when he gets old enough to live outside of the Institute? What kind of world was he going to get?"

He shook his head.

"He'll be ready make decisions with his life, and I don't want one of those decision be fighting the Brotherhood," Alex said.

The words felt clunky from his lips, but he hadn't thought before he used it. A strange, frightening thrill ran through him. He'd called them what they were. Something fell onto his shoulders then. Somehow it didn't seem like it was thinking of them as different groups anymore. Now it felt like he was thinking of them on different sides of a war.

He didn't want to think like that. Didn't want to think of Erik, a man he'd once commented on cheap horror movies with, as threatening his brother. Alex didn't want to leave the narrow, mission by mission viewpoint that he'd been using for the past years. He didn't want Erik and the rest to be their enemies. And yet, they could be.

Alex wondered if this was what the Professor felt all the time.

"It just feels like…" Alex said.

He took a deep breath.

"It just feels a bit like…I'm just not sure we can figure things out peacefully with them," Alex said.

Now that the words were out he could feel a dull certainty welling up inside of him. It was something that he should've seen much earlier. Even now, with the blinders off, he knew that Erik wasn't just a comic book villain. He was a former friend. Raven was still the Professor's sister. There was a still a connection there.

There was still hope that things could work out.

"I'm not sure if peacefully figuring things out was ever an option," Hank said.

Sean looked shocked at this declaration, but Alex couldn't. Not when he felt the same thing. Hank was smarter than him: he'd seen it sooner.

"I don't want Scott mixed up in this fight," Alex said, "I want him kept out of it."

Sean laughed.

"Dude, if he wants in, I think he'll find a way in oh fearless leader," Sean said.

"What did you call me?" Alex said.

Sean coughed and looked at him awkwardly. Hank stepped in.

"He's got a point," he said, "Scott is smart Alex. No offense, but from what I've seen of your family, you do seem to send out a 'go out and get it' kind of vibe."

"Maybe," Alex said, "And that's why he's never going to know about the X-men."


	9. Chapter 9

Scott sat in the library finishing up his weekend reading. Ororo sat opposite him, tapping her fingers impatiently on the side of the page. He glanced up at her, but continued reading. They both had reading tests on Monday, and he knew that she'd barely started her reading assignment.

He could tell that she was getting bored though. Ororo continued to fidget, her eyes constantly looking out the window.

"You can do this for hours?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"It's not a bad book," he said, "It's actually pretty good if you get past the beginning."

"Define beginning. Do you mean the first five pages, or the first hundred?" Ororo complained, "This guy just keep going on and on and on."

Scott just laughed. She made a face at him and pulled her book closer.

"What would you know? You're not even reading the same book as me," she accused.

"I've read it though," Scott said.

Her face contorted into a scowl.

"You probably read it for fun, didn't you?" she said.

He smiled. Ororo just shook her head.

"You make it hard to be your friend sometimes," Ororo said.

It stung, even though he knew that she was just making a joke. He repeated that to himself, forcing himself not to get nervous. Too many years had passed in the orphanage needing to listen into the subtleties in people's voices.

Sometimes it was difficult to believe that he was in a place as good as the Institute. When his parents had died his life had lost its surety. All of the kindness and goodness in his life had seemed to evaporate. Since the moment his brother had come back into his life, things had seemed a little surreal. It was too perfect, too nice to be somewhere that he could live.

"Hey, Scotty boy!"

Scott looked up. Alex was standing in the doorway, wiping his hands with a greasy cloth.

"Almost done with your reading?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scott said.

"Good," Alex said, "I need to talk to you about something."

Scott closed his book and got up. Ororo's scowl deepened and Scott gave her a conciliatory wave.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, "Good luck."

Her scowl faded and she sighed.

"Thanks Scott," she said.

He tucked his book under his arm and followed Alex out of the library. His brother continued to wipe his hands as he walked down the hallway. Scott knew that his hands weren't getting cleaner: maybe it was compulsive.

Inwardly he filed it away with his brother's other mannerisms. Four years was a long time to be away from each other. Many things had stayed the same, but little things had changed. Now that Alex had the chest plate on constantly, he scratched his neck more. He seemed to crack his neck and stretch more too, like he was involved regularly in physical activity.

Now he had wiping his hands after working on cars to add to the list. Scott could remember when he'd worked on cars with their father: they had owned one and his father sometimes fixed up his friends' cars on the side. Scott had watched the two of them in the garage, too young to help. He figured that he'd help when he got older.

Then the accident had happened. Scott had never gone near a car again: there had never been any opportunities. He found that, shockingly, he didn't mind that much. He hadn't even tried to watch his brother at work.

"So, Scotty boy, I've been working on the Professor's father's and stepfather's cars for a while," Alex said, "They're in shitty shape, I can tell ya that much."

Alex shook his head. He frowned at the book that Scott was carrying.

"You shoulda left it," he said, "You're not gonna need it where we're going."

"Oh," Scott said, "Should I put it in my room?"

Alex rubbed his chin, smearing some grease there. Scott could see the rag in his hand and, now that he was closer, he could see the dark stains all over his clothes. He wondered just how long he'd been working on the cars.

He also wondered how much homework he'd ditched to get it done.

"Nah, just leave it in the garage," Alex said.

His brother opened a door and headed downstairs. Scott followed him, stepping to the side as his brother locked the door behind him. He knew that most students weren't allowed down here. As far as he knew, only his brother, his brother's friends, and the Professor had keys.

Alex went down to the garage, and Scott followed. There was another door on the left that Scott hadn't noticed before.

"Where's that lead?" Scott asked.

His brother frowned.

"Dunno," Alex said, "Plumbing or something."

Scott squinted at it.

"The doorway kinda reminds me of the bomb shelter at the base in Alaska," he said.

Alex laughed.

"Why would the Professor have a bomb shelter?" he asked.

Scott could feel heat enter his face. It really did feel silly when he said it out loud. He hated feeling silly.

"I dunno," Scott said.

"Never mind," Alex said, unlocking the door to the garage, "Just leave your book on the shelf and get moving."

He walked inside the garage and threw the filthy cloth in the corner. Scott put the book on a clean spot and hurried after his brother. Alex was walking to the front of the cars to the front of the garage. He saw a couple of cars that were very old, but in good condition. The Professor's father and stepfather had been quite the collectors.

"Hurry up. I have to get some chemistry work done, and I haven't asked Hank if I can use his stuff yet."

Scott picked up his pace. He saw his brother standing proudly next to a motorcycle. It was old, Scott could tell that from the year on the side, but it had been made to shine. Scott looked from the bike to Alex, wondering where this was going.

"Took me a damn long time to get it right," Alex said, "I don't think it's ever been ridden, but nobody took care of it."

"Have you worked on bikes before?" Scott asked.

"No," Alex said, "but I figured out the engine quick enough. You just gotta wanna go for it. You can learn just about anything if you just go for it."

"Maybe Ororo can figure out her classical literature," Scott said.

Alex put his hand on the handlebars.

"Yeah...if we can make her want to," he said.

Scott laughed. Ororo was never very secretive about how she felt about school work. She did it though, and her grades seemed to be improving.

"Anyway, I thought that I'd take it out for a spin today around the Institute," Alex said, "School's gonna let out soon, and I'm not sure how much time I'm gonna have after exams an all of that."

He picked up a helmet and began to buckle it on.

"Wanna come?" he asked.

Scott hesitated. He peered at the bike, feeling a little nervous.

"I'm not sure..." he said, "Have you...ridden before?"

"I wouldn't take you on it if I didn't know I could do it," Alex said, rolling his eyes.

Scott still hesitated.

"Come on Scotty boy, live a little," Alex said.

He tossed him a helmet. Scott only just managed to catch it. For a moment he looked at the helmet. However, he sighed and put it on. He didn't see any point in arguing about it with his brother. Alex whooped.

"Come on!" he said.

Scott walked over and got onto the bike. Alex helped him settle himself before opening the garage door. Once it was safely open he returned and got on behind him.

"Hold on," Alex said.

"I won't let go," Scott said, "Trust me."

Alex laughed and kicked off. Scott wondered just what it was that made his brother seek these kind of thrills. The bike started and, for a moment, Scott wondered just how his brother was balancing. Then he was off, accelerating as fast as they could.

Scott tried, and failed, to stifle a squeak. He ducked his head, trying to get used to the rush of the wind all around him. Alex whooped again, obviously feeling excited. For his part, Scott felt sick and disoriented. He knew that he would have to open his eyes if he wanted to settle his stomach.

Feeling fear sinking into him, Scott opened his eyes. Now that he saw the landscape around him he stopped feeling so nauseous. The wind seemed to curl around him, and the rushing scenery seemed beautiful somehow.

"I'm turning now Scotty boy," Alex said.

Scott managed to nod. The bike turned, and although he was sure he left at least some of his stomach behind, he couldn't help but feel a slight thrill. Maybe Alex was right and he did know what he was doing. There might be something good in motorcycles after all.

Alex looped around the back of the Institute. Feeling a little more secure Scott ventured a few words.

"This is kinda fun," he said.

"It's awesome Scott," Alex laughed, "Don't worry, you'll like it more when you're the one driving."

"You're gonna let me drive?" Scott asked curiously.

Alex laughed again.

"Hell no!" he said, "Not until you're seventeen. Maybe older. Something like that."

Scott sighed.

"So, anyway," Alex said, "I know school's almost over, but I was wondering if you had any ideas about things you wanna do over the summer."

Thoughtful, Scott began fiddling with the chin strap on his helmet. A thought occurred to him and he swallowed. No, he wouldn't have to go back to the orphanage. Alex had promised, and just because school was out of session didn't mean that he wasn't going to have to go back.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Scott said.

He knew he answered a little too quickly.

"Scotty boy, what's buggin ya?" he asked.

Scott swallowed.

"Just because school's out...I don't have to go back to Omaha do I?" Scott asked.

Alex hit the brakes. The motion was so sudden that Scott almost hit his head on the handlebars. He looked back and saw his brother staring at him.

"Scott, I want to tell you this, and I want you to take it damn seriously," Alex said, "Because you are never going back to that place. I'll die before I let that happen. Okay?"

Despite himself Scott could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't know why: he'd known that Alex was going to take care of him. He'd known that the Institute was his new home. He'd known that no one was waiting to ship him off to orphanage after orphanage.

Still, he needed that assurance. It was weak, but he still felt scared that he was going to get whisked away again. Alex must have recognized it, because he suddenly pulled him into a strong hug.

"It's gonna be okay," he said, "We'll stay at the Institute over the summer. This is our home now. No one..."

His brother took a shuddering breath.

"I know what it's like to get tossed around. But no one is going to do that to you," he said, "No one's gonna separate us. We're going to stay together."

Alex's fingers dug into his shoulders.

"It's safe here," he said, "I'm going to make sure that we're always going to be okay."

Scott closed his eyes against his tears and hugged him. He wasn't going to cry.

"I trust you," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

"Havok, lookout!"

Alex ducked and rolled, just in time to avoid a fireball from Angel. He wished that he'd managed to get a cleaner shot at her wings when they were on Cuba. Although he'd never discussed his feelings with the Professor, he wished that he'd sliced them clean off. She wouldn't be such a threat if he'd managed to take off her wings.

He knelt down and sent a blast towards her. She swung as wide of it as possible. Alex knew that she hadn't forgotten about their encounter on Cuba either. It had been three years since then, but no one forgot things like that.

When Angel dodged Sean rammed right into her. The Brotherhood wasn't the only one with aerial support. Alex hadn't seen Erik yet though, and it was something of a relief. He began to doubt that he was there. Hank was still inside the compound, trying to get the data that the CIA had collected and the names of the scientists on their payroll before the Brotherhood did.

It wasn't a particularly good situation, the idea that the CIA was researching mutants. The types of research didn't sound very good either. The FBI might have been a better source to investigate them, but for some reason it was still considered a CIA operation. The Professor had found out about the research, and they'd been sent.

The Brotherhood had found out about it too though. They'd also taken offense at the idea. However, that information would be best used in the X-men's hands. The X-men would destroy the CIA's data and the Professor would have a quiet word with some of the scientists. He had no clue what the Brotherhood would do.

Alex looked at his watch and swore. What was taking Hank so long? He should have been out five minutes ago. Alex knew that he could have encountered complications, but they needed to get in and out before the CIA's cavalry showed up. He'd seen Azazel go in after Hank, but he knew that he couldn't have beaten Hank to the information.

Although the Professor didn't know it, they'd gotten some directions from Moira on the way to the field. He'd felt bad about asking her for yet another favor, or he would have if they'd been given a chance. She'd been about to call them, trying to tell them about the information. When she found out they were already going after it, she'd given them a few helpful hints. She never ceased to amaze him.

He dodged a fireball and rolled on the ground. Alex knew that it was wrong to get so distracted, but he couldn't help but wonder how stupid the Professor had been feeling the day that he'd let Moira go. He wondered if, maybe, it was time to bring her up to the Professor. Perhaps it wasn't his place to play matchmaker, and both parties might not want to even see the other, but still.

A fist came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. Alex caught himself at the last minute and pushed himself up. He looked behind him and saw Raven. For a minute he gawked. What was she doing in the line of combat. He hadn't dealt with her in hand-to-hand combat before, a thought that leant him little comfort as a spiked foot sailed over his head.

The attack came fast and furious. When had this happened? When had she become some sort of death machine? Alex struggled to catch up with her motions. He hadn't fought anyone on this sort of level. Confusion still entered his mind, thinking of the blonde girl he'd trained with back at the school. Raven hadn't been very good at hand-to-hand then. As she punched him in the stomach, almost knocking the wind out of him, Alex decided it was time to reassess. She'd obviously had some time to brush up.

The blows rained down on him. Alex began looking for ways to take her down. She had a tougher hide, but she was obviously still vulnerable to getting cut or knocked out. He'd have to figure out a way to slam her up against something.

He managed to catch her next fist and hit her as hard as he could in her jaw. Her foot came up, this time slicing into his cheek. Alex moved backwards and let his chest plate light up. He could graze her, maybe burn her legs and arms a little and get her to stop. Raven ducked and knocked his legs out from under him.

His bolt fired into the air. Alex watched in horror as it went straight up, almost hitting Sean. His friend managed to move back at the last moment. If he hadn't moved slightly to the left, then his face could have been burned off.

Alex looked back at Raven, still feeling shock trembling through him. He saw that she looked disappointed and frustrated. He suddenly realized that she had done that on purpose. She had deliberately attempted to kill Sean.

Red flashed behind his eyes.

"Sonuvabitch!" he yelled.

He rushed forward and tackled Raven. He saw her golden eyes glaring up at him with indignation and surprise. He punched her across the jaw before she managed to kick him off. His eyes narrowed at her, watching her movements carefully.

A flurry of feet and fists came at him. He put up his arms, but most of her blows came through. Alex couldn't dodge them, and they sent him to his knees. The image of Sean nearly meeting a terrible, firey death, still danced behind his eyes.

It was time for him to do something, or he was going to get beaten to death. One of her arms shot out and he caught it in an arm lock, twisting it behind her back. Raven pulled back, but his grip was made stronger by his anger. She tried to get out of it by rolling, but Alex kicked her feet out from under her. He applied more pressure onto her arm and heard something snap.

She gasped. He couldn't tell if he'd dislocated her arm or broken it, but either way he felt a keen sense of satisfaction.

"How's it feel to be the one in pain Mystique?" he snarled.

The words left his lips before he could stop them. Mystique. She hissed and punched upwards, her spikes slicing at his face again. Alex refused to let go though. He applied more pressure and twisted her arm a little more.

She cried out this time. Alex wondered if he could ruin her arm entirely. He'd regretted not crippling Angel when he had the chance. Why not take the chance now? It wouldn't be like he was killing her: he'd just make sure that she could never try to kill his teammates again.

Her eyes met his. Alex suddenly remembered the girl with blonde hair again, sticking up for Hank and turning into Sean. He paused then, trying to somehow correlate these two pictures in his mind. Could she really have changed that much?

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw movement. He let go of Mystique's arm and dropped to the floor as Azazel's sword sliced through the air. It would've cut the artery above his neck if he hadn't moved, but as it was it just gave him a shallow cut across his back, ripping the fabric.

He turned around and sent off a blast. Azazel teleported away with Mystique.

"Havok!" Hank yelled, grabbing his shoulder, "We have to get out of here!"

For a minute Alex stared after Mystique and Azazel. He could've crippled her. He could have stopped her. The moment had passed, and Alex cursed himself for his weakness. He glared in their direction before running after Hank. His thoughts churned angrily in his head.

"Is that deep?" Hank asked.

"No," Alex said, his voice short, "You got the disk?"

"Yes but-"

"We can tend to it when we get to the Institute. Just fly us, okay?" Alex snapped.

Hank raised his eyebrows as he got into the cockpit.

"Sean, start blotting the blood," Hank said.

Alex didn't look to the left or the right as Sean began to stop the bleeding. The plane took off and he looked out the window. His thoughts were starting to get a little less chaotic. He didn't think of himself as a good thinker, but it didn't take him long to come to a conclusion.

It was obvious that Mystique didn't see him as Alex anymore, only an enemy. If she saw him with a name at all, it was Havok. He wasn't the former convict that Erik and the Professor had picked up. It was time to return the favor and see her as Mystique.

"I said we're back," Sean said.

Alex snapped back to the present. He got up and Sean ushered him into the medical bay. He peeled off his uniform and threw it in the secret laundry pile in the closet for their uniforms. His undershirt was torn, but the pants he wore beneath the uniform were fine.

Hank and Sean did the same. Alex wore jeans underneath his uniform, but Sean preferred sweatpants and Hank preferred pants made out of his own fabric design. He was testing them to see if they'd work better under the uniforms.

Without any warning Hank poured alcohol on Alex's wound. Alex hissed between his teeth.

"Dammit Hank!" Alex said.

"It was always going to sting Alex," Hank said, his voice level.

"Well at least give me some sort of warning," Alex said, "It hurts like a bitch."

"Stop being such a sissy," Sean said.

Alex narrowed his eyes.

"Do you wanna switch places?" he said.

"No need to get pissed," Sean muttered.

"Alex?"

Alex whipped around. Scott was standing in the doorway, his mouth open. Alex wished that he could disappear or, better yet, go back and think to close the door or lock it. He managed to give his brother a wane smile.

"Whatcha doin down here?" he asked.

"I was...I couldn't find you so I went to ask Hank...I had trouble with some of my math homework," Scott stammered, "What happened to your back?"

Still smiling, Alex wildly invented.

"I fell down the stairs," he said.

"What?" Scott said.

"On the way to the garage," he said, "I was busy-"

"You were calling me names and couldn't be bothered to look where you were going," Sean said.

Alex pretended to be annoyed, but he hoped Sean could see the gratitude in his eyes. He'd jumped in pretty fast, and was lending legitimacy to his story.

"Are you okay?" Scott said.

His brother looked a little pale. Alex wondered what he was looking at, but then he realized that the cloth that Sean had used to blot the blood was still lying next to him. He let his eyes over to the bloodied cloth and shrugged.

"Stay still," Hank hissed.

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Scotty boy, it looks a lot worse than it actually is," he said, "It doesn't even need stitches. Right Hank?"

"Right," Hank agreed.

His brother didn't look convinced.

"I mean it," Alex said.

"Um, okay," Scott said.

Scott still didn't look like he quite believed him. His eyes trailed from his back to his face. Alex remembered Mystique's spiky skin cutting into his face.

"I kinda scraped my face up too," Alex said.

"Scott, your brother fell flat on his face," Sean said, "Woulda been funny if he hadn't been crying like a sissy."

"I didn't cry!" Alex said.

He had the feeling that Sean was enjoying his role a little too much. Alex felt Hank finish bandaging up his back. Hank moved to Alex's face with a bottle of alcohol. He winced as he thought of that touching the cuts on his face.

"I'll be up in a bit," Alex said, "Just need to finish up down here."

"Okay," Scott said, "Okay."

His brother gave Alex a strange look before hurrying up the stairs. Sean shut the door behind him.

"Smart kid," Hank said, "I don't think he believed you entirely."

"It's not like he's going to come to the truth on his own. He'll accept the stair story," Alex said, irritated, "And Sean, thanks for the help, but go a little easy next time."

"No promises," Sean grinned.


	11. Chapter 11

Scott looked down at his notebook, tapping his pencil on the side of it. The noise began to annoy him after a while. He stopped tapping it and began chewing the eraser. A bubbly, uncomfortable feeling started in his gut when he began it, but Scott felt like it needed to be done.

He'd written down everything that he'd seen that was unusual since he came to the Institute. When he really started to think about it there were several instances. Not all of them were related to his brother, but the ones that weren't had to do with his friends. Everything swirled around Alex and his friends.

He didn't have too much interaction with the Professor, so he wasn't one hundred percent sure if he was involved. Scott knew he had much more interaction that most students because his brother had been one of the first students. Still, he hadn't seen him too much with Alex and his friends. Scott found it highly unlikely that something this unusual could happen in the Professor's school without him knowing about it though. He was a telepath after all.

The more he stared at the paper, the more incidents he began to remember. His brother's injuries were still at the top of the list though. Scott had fallen down the stairs enough times, either by clumsiness or unpleasant housemates, to know that getting both face and back injuries was unlikely. It could happen, but if it had, he'd have had to roll. He would've been cut up and bruised a lot more if that had happened.

Scott bit through the eraser. He spit it out into his hand and threw it away. He didn't like to think that his brother was keeping secrets from him. Alex had always been honest, and Scott trusted him. He'd taken care of him even before they lost their parents. He wouldn't lie to him.

At the same time, Scott wasn't stupid. He could put two and two together, and it was making him nervous. Something was going on, and it was something that his brother and his friends, and most likely the Professor, didn't want the other students to know about.

There was a knock on the door. Scott hastily shoved the list underneath his pillow.

"Who is it?" he called.

"Just me," his brother said, "Well, me and Hank."

Scott got up and opened the door. Hank was standing behind his brother, carrying a box underneath his arm. Scott cocked his head.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Hank rigged up something for ya, something to help ya with your powers," Alex said, "The Professor's meeting us downstairs."

Fear threaded through him. He touched his gasses tentatively.

"Is something wrong with my glasses?" he asked, "Can't I just keep using them?"

"Nothing's wrong with your glasses," Alex said, putting up his hands in a calming gesture, "We just thought you might like this a bit better. It's easier to control this way."

"Can't I just keep blocking it?" Scott asked.

His brother looked a little uncomfortable. He turned to Hank, almost as though he was looking for guidance. Hank just shrugged at him. Alex looked back at Scott and gave a lopsided smile. Scott didn't feel too reassured by that.

"You'll feel better about it if you can control it," Alex said.

"But why would I want to use it?" Scott asked.

"You might get into trouble," Alex said, "Or you might do it by accident."

"But these are meant to block it," Scott said, feeling confused, "And using it just causes trouble."

His brother looked at a loss.

"The Professor might be able to explain this better," Alex said at last.

"Alright," Scott said, feeling uneasy.

"Come on," Hank said, "There's a place we use for tests like this."

Alex put his hand around Scott's shoulders and led him downstairs. At first Scott thought that he was taking him into the garage, but instead they turned to the other side. His eyes widened. Towards the top of the list he'd listed the "secret room" as a reason for suspicion.

Hank unlocked it and they went in. Scott looked around.

"This is a bomb shelter," he said.

He looked up at his brother accusingly. Alex grinned and shrugged.

"Yes. My stepfather was rather paranoid."

Scott saw the Professor wheeling towards them. He settled down next to them and nodded to Alex. Alex headed towards the other end of the bomb shelter and began setting up what looked like targets. Scott began to feel queasy.

"What are those for?" he asked.

The Professor gave him a kind look.

"Scott, you've been here for a year now," the Professor said, "And, because of circumstances and Hank's glasses, I thought that you might want some time to settle in with your gift before you started training with it."

Scott bit his lip and looked at the target. No one had told him this was going to happen. He could still remember the burning in his eyes, watching in fear as the building burned and crumbled because of him, because of his eyes. He couldn't imagine that it was a gift.

He decided he should say so.

"I blow stuff up," Scott said, "I don't want to do that."

"Scott," the Professor said, his voice gentle and soothing, "I'm glad that you don't. However, if you don't control this, then it will control you. It will dictate your life, and you will live in fear of it."

Scott wanted to tell him that he already lived in fear of it. The only thing that had happened with his powers that had made him happy was when he'd gotten his glasses. That and knowing that Alex had it too. It made it seem less scary.

"Do you understand Scott?" the Professor asked.

He didn't. He really didn't. However, his brother was at the other end of the room. He swallowed.

"Okay," Scott said.

Hank handed the Professor a box, looking proud. The Professor opened it, revealing something that looked like a visor.

"Hank designed these goggles for you," the Professor said, "The lens is made of the same material as your sunglasses. The dial will control the intensity of the beam."

The Professor looked at Hank, who straightened his glasses.

"You see, your glasses are actually made of several different layers of red quartz," Hank said, "Same thing with the goggles, only you'll be able to determine the amount of intensity. The dial controls the different layers and removes them depending on how intense you want the beam to be. If you turn the dial all the way back, then you get the pure force of your beam. As long as you pull the dial back, it'll go. If you let go of the dial, it'll snap back and stop."

Scott could feel the panic rising. He looked to the other side of the room. Alex had finished setting up the targets. Hank handed Scott the goggles. A strange headiness came over him when he looked at the goggles. His palms began to sweat, and it was all he could do to keep standing. They couldn't be serious about this.

"I can help you put them on," Hank offered, "They're a little fiddly, but you'll get used to them, and I'll make sure to simplify them in the future."

He couldn't find the words to respond to Hank. Before he knew it Hank had picked up the goggles again. He must have taken his silence as acquiesce.

"Close your eyes," Hank said.

Scott squeezed his eyes shut. Hank took off his sunglasses and he felt the goggles slip over his face. The panic was becoming more acute now. He tried to tell himself not to cry, not to panic, not to show weakness. He could be strong.

Something clicked into place next to him.

"Open your eyes," Hank said.

Scott did so. Instead of his glasses he saw a wide panorama. It felt a little freer than the glasses, and he began to relax.

"These are harder to come off," Hank said, "They won't just come off if you trip or something. They're rather sturdy, and they're unlikely to break."

That was a relief.

"You might want to use these on a daily basis, although the sunglasses might be a better idea if you go outside the Institute," Hank said, "They look a little less sic-fi."

Scott nodded and Alex jogged up next to him.

"Okay," Alex said, "You wanna start with some target practice?"

The panic hit him again. He swallowed and looked at the first target. He was supposed to hit that.

"We'll stand back to the side, but the beam is going to be concentrated," Hank said.

Alex patted him on the back.

"It'll be fun Scotty boy," he said.

It wouldn't be. It most definitely wouldn't be.

"Remember Scott," the Professor said, "Start slow. Rome wasn't built in a day, and we're not expecting perfection. We're here to help you."

This was really happening.

"Whenever you're ready," the Professor said.

Sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be a part of this. Scott wished that Hank had never created the stupid goggles that he was wearing. He wished that they would leave him alone, that the Professor hadn't suddenly decided he was ready.

Why didn't his brother understand this? He'd gotten something to control his powers, but wasn't that just as a precaution? Scott had never talked to Alex about his fears, but he'd thought that he didn't need to. He'd thought that everyone understood this.

"In your own time."

They were looking at him. They were all waiting for him. He felt like crying, but he'd just turned ten. He couldn't cry. His brother was watching, Hank was watching, the Professor was watching. He needed to do something. Scott couldn't let them down.

In a flash of panic, his hand flew up to his dial. He pushed it all the way back, and Scott was knocked off his feet. He fell on his back, his hand snapping back away from the dial. Scott squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as he could, but it didn't block out everything. He could smell the flames, the smoke.

Suddenly he was back in the plane. His brother was holding onto him, his mother's tears were falling onto his shirt. He screamed.

"Scott!"

His brother pulled him to his feet. Scott dared open his eyes and saw his brother staring at him with raw concern.

"Scott," Alex said, his voice weak.

Scott cried. He couldn't help it. His brother pulled him into a hug and sat down with him.

"It's okay Scott," Alex said.

He shook his head.

"I don't want this," Scott said.

"It's okay-"

"No!" Scott yelled, the tears still coursing down his cheeks, "I don't want this! I don't want to use it! I don't want to control it! I don't want it, I want it to go away!"

There was an aching silence. Scott thought he could hear a fire extinguisher in the background.

"I don't want to use it to fight, or defend myself or any of that," Scott sobbed, "I don't want it-"

"Scott, listen to me," Alex said.

He pushed Scott away a little so their eyes could meet.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't understand. But I do now. And it's going to be alright."

His brother breathed in.

"You won't have to use it like that," Alex said, "You won't have to fight with it. You won't have to defend yourself with it. I'll make sure you never have to do any of that."

Scott began to feel a little better, but he couldn't help but notice that Alex's eyes trailed over to the Professor and Hank. He saw the Professor give a nod of agreement, as though they had discussed this in the past, and Hank looked away.

All of this flashed before his eyes as his brother hugged him again. He tried to forget it, just focus on the fact that he wasn't going to have to do this again. However, some of the unease that Scott felt earlier stole inside of him. Something was going on.


	12. Chapter 12

Alex could feel the time ticking by. He stared at the text in front of him, portions highlighted. While it was quiet enough in his room, he'd taken his studies down to Hank's lab. It was far away from other people and quieter than any other place in the Institute now that Hank had gone to sleep.

The highlighted text began to blur in front of him. He felt tired, almost as though a headache was pulsing through his head. He was starting on his senior year, and he could feel the pressure of college approaching him.

His brother was also weighing down on him. Alex had been nervous about his powers. He'd been apprehensive about them. They had frustrated him and driven him up the wall while he tried to figure out what to do with them. He'd wanted them to go away, just so he didn't have to bother with them.

Learning how to control his power had amazed him. Alex had been cagey at first because he'd been doubtful of the Professor's abilities. His powers were a part of him, and when he'd been valued for it, he'd been secretly proud. He'd loved Hank's device and the Professor's lessons because, for once in his life, he was in control of something.

Alex thought that Scott would feel the same. He'd had something unknowable and uncontrollable unleashed within him. He'd thought that, after getting over the initial shock, he would be comforted by the ability to control his newfound gift. He'd even grinned when Hank had first shown him the design for the goggles.

He'd miscalculated. Instead of wanting to control it, Scott had wanted it to go away. He was scared, more scared than Alex had ever seen. He'd sobbed like he was five again, and Alex had suddenly realized that a year hadn't been enough time to lessen his fear of his gift.

He'd been a fool to reassure the Professor that it had been. He'd been the one to voice concerns, given the fact that Alex had told the Professor that Scott was scared of fire. He'd told him that Summers bounced back, that Scott would be interested in learning more about his powers right away. The Professor had been doubtful, reminding Alex that Scott had never sought help, never even suggested trying his powers.

But Alex had pushed the issue until they'd given it a try. The results had been a disaster. Scott had clung to him, absolutely terrified. Alex had understood then that Scott wasn't ready for his powers. He'd given a look to the Professor, a defeated one to let him know that he'd been right.

He'd also given one to Hank. More than anything, this confirmed that he was right. Scott couldn't know about the X-men. If this scared him, what would he feel like if he knew Alex as Havok? Hank had looked away and, if nothing else, Alex knew that he wouldn't be the only one to tell Sean to shut up when the subject of telling Scott came around.

It had been a while since the incident in the Danger Room. Scott had kept the goggles, happy at least that they stayed in place better than the glasses. Alex knew that the dial hadn't been used. He knew that it would remain that way until Scott was ready. Alex didn't know when, or if, that day would ever come.

He tossed his highlighter at the wall. What had he been thinking? He'd pushed his brother too far. There were other, slightly more sinister insinuations from the event. If he couldn't even predict his own brother's behavior, then how could he deal with children he'd never met before?

Alexander Summers, teacher. It felt like a joke. He glared down at his homework, his fingers digging into the table. He was going to fail. Alex let go of the table and buried his head in his hands. He wished that he could see just a modicum of what the Professor saw in him, whatever it was that made him think that he would be a good teacher. What made the Professor think that he could bring him into his project?

He felt like giving up. He prided himself on never giving up, but maybe it was time to toss in the towel. He wasn't a teacher, and he was starting to doubt his abilities as a brother. Scott might have forgotten about the incident by now, but he certainly hadn't. He doubted that he ever would.

The phone rang next to him. He jumped and stared at it, feeling his heart begin to calm down. He swallowed and, his motions mechanical, he picked it up.

"Xavier's-" he began.

"Alex? We need to talk."

He straightened at the sound of Moira's voice. The tone was sharp and urgent.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Quite a bit, but I don't have much time," Moira said, "You told me that you all thought that Emma might be going her own way."

"Yeah, but we didn't have anything to back it up," Alex said, rubbing his face.

"I do. It looks like she's revived the Hellfire Club," Moira said, "It seems like it was bigger than we originally thought."

Alex shifted the phone so that it was cradled under his chin. He supposed she was giving them a tip. It was certainly better to think about a mission with the X-men than his present life. Somehow it was less complicated.

"They've started something. I think it's recruitment, but it's aggressive Alex," Moira said, "There's someone...never mind. To keep a long story short I found someone who said no. They didn't like that. Alex, I need a safe place for them

"You've got it," Alex said, "We can definitely pick them up-"

"It's not as simple as that," Moira said, her voice picking up speed, "Alex, they're coming after us right now."

He felt his blood freeze before boiling. Emma's people were coming after Moira were they? He'd teach them a lesson about that that they wouldn't soon forget. He was sure that the rest of the X-men wouldn't hesitate either.

Alex almost smiled. He wasn't happy that Moira was in trouble, but he was happy that they might be able to pay back some of the many favors that they owed her.

"How many?" Alex asked.

"There were seven at one point, but I'm not sure," Moira said, "I think Emma's with them, and I'm pretty sure that she got out of that crash."

"Crash?" Alex said, feeling confused.

"Long story, but let's just say that having nails you can throw out the window at other cars' tires really helps," Moira said.

This time he did smile. He'd make a note.

"Alex, you know I can't remember where the Institute is. I know it's in New York but I don't...I need you all to meet me somewhere."

There was a noise in the background. Alex ran through several places that they could fly the Blackbird to pick them up. If all went well they would be unnoticed by the Hellfire Club. He didn't know just what their chances were, but he had to at least pick somewhere that might work.

"It's okay, I'm almost done," Moira said.

"Huh?" Alex said.

"I wasn't talking to you," Moira said, "But what I'm saying...Alex, do you know-?"

"There's a back road that winds around the I-25," Alex said, "It's surrounded by woods on both sides, but I think we can get the plane through there. If you meet us ten miles before it loops back up with the highway-"

"Got it," Moira said, "We're not to far. We'll be there in an hour."

"So will we," Alex said.

Moira hung up. Alex abandoned his work and ran to Hank's room. It didn't take much to wake him up, and he used only short words to tell him about the situation. Hank immediately got up and began to get ready to go to the hanger.

Sean responded well too. He seemed a bit more dazed, but he managed to get himself together. Alex nodded and ran past his room yet again. He was doing a lot of running. He'd be worried about waking up the students, but he knew that everyone on this floor slept like the dead.

Besides, he was making good time. He figured that he could get down to the hanger pretty soon and struggle into his jumpsuit in the plane. If they were lucky, and had a decent response time, the Professor would never even miss them.

The Professor. Alex stopped short. His mind finally caught up with his feet and he began to asses the situation. There were going to be several people chasing them. With any luck they would be able to rescue Moira and the mutant without involving the Hellfire Club.

That scenario only worked if they outran them. Alex didn't know just how close the Hellfire Club was. Moira had to stop to call them, which was sensible. However, that would have slowed them down. It was very likely that they would encounter them before the night was out.

If they did encounter them, then they would be greatly outnumbered. Alex didn't doubt Moira's abilities, it looked like she might have already taken a few out, but she would be going up against mutants. He also didn't know just how well the mutant that was with her was trained. All in all, the situation could turn very ugly very fast if they didn't treat it with care.

In short, they needed more people. Alex thought again of the Professor. He wasn't a combatant, but in the very least he'd be able to take out Emma. Involving him meant telling him about the secret calls to Moira though, meant bringing the two face to face.

Alex hesitated for a moment, looking from one side of the hall to another.

"Screw it," he said.

He ran past his own room again and headed towards the Professor's room. He threw open the door and ran to the Professor's bedside. The Professor pushed himself up, looking at Alex with bleary recognition.

In the next moment Alex could see the worry there.

"What's wrong?" the Professor said.

"We got a distress call," Alex said, "Emma's reformed the Hellfire Club and she's after someone. We're trying to get to them before she does. It sounds like she's bringing some people, so we might have to go in there full force."

The Professor blinked at him for a moment. In the next minute Alex could see the understanding there.

"Get my chair," he said.

Alex grabbed the wheelchair from its position by the bed. The Professor hoisted himself into it and Alex ran down the hall with him. While he wasn't happy to be running down the hall, he was impressed at his speed.

It wasn't difficult to get to the hanger once they were in one of the cars. Hank was already waiting for them, and Sean was fumbling with his gloves. Hank drove at top speed and they got to the hanger quickly. Alex looked down at his watch. They still had enough time to get there.

It wasn't until they got inside the Blackbird that the Professor spoke.

"How did you get this call Alex?" the Professor said, "I have no doubt that you received it, I'm just a little confused as to how this person contacted you."

Alex bit his lip. He was not looking forward to the next few minutes.

"That's kind of a long story," he said.

He looked to the others for help, but only received blank looks. They didn't know what to say either.


	13. Chapter 13

Scott heard the thunderous footsteps outside his door. He furrowed his brow and crept forwards, uncertain as to what was going on. Were people racing each other? He was sure that wasn't allowed, especially so late at night.

Feeling nervous Scott approached his door. He knew he shouldn't feel so scared. The Institute was his home. He was safe there. The only time he hadn't felt safe was when they'd handed him the goggles and pointed him towards the targets.

His face burned in shame when he thought about it. He'd cried like a baby in front of the Professor, Hank, and, worst of all, his brother. Why couldn't he just keep his tears in, tell them that he didn't want to do it without sobbing?

Scott had expected his brother to be disappointed in him. Alex had simply accepted the situation, although he'd become more withdrawn lately. Scott knew it was his fault, but he couldn't talk about it. He couldn't cry again.

Taking a deep breath he cracked the door. He was able to peer out just in time to see Alex running down the hall at full speed with the Professor. Scott's eyes widened as he watched them. What was going on?

Despite himself, he opened the door the rest of the way. He told himself that he was an idiot, but he continued down the hall after his brother. What was he doing? Where was he taking the Professor? Why was he in such a hurry?

He managed to get to the garage just in time to see Alex and the rest take off in a car. They'd forgotten to lock the door behind them. Scott watched them drive into the distance until the garage door closed.

For a moment Scott just looked after them, his mouth slightly open. What was Alex doing? What were any of them doing? It was late at night, and they'd just rushed off in a car. He could only suppose that they were going towards the hanger.

Where did they need to fly to though? Was another mutant like him in trouble? Did they need to get there in fast before the horrible people from juvenile hall came back? It couldn't be something simple. If they were just recruiting, then they wouldn't have all gone. Scott blinked at the garage door, trying to order his thoughts.

He sat down in a corner of the garage. Confusion still blared through his mind. Scott didn't know what to do. He looked down at his blue pajamas and plucked at the hem. There were too many questions and not enough answers.

Scott bit his lip. He knew that he should get back to bed. Whatever was happening was beyond him, and he wasn't going to get any answers by staring at his pajamas. His brother would get mad if he found him down there. The Professor would get mad too. Everyone would get mad, and he didn't want to get into trouble.

He began to get up, and then he thought about the gash on his brother's back. He stopped. Did this have anything to do with that? Was his brother doing something that would get him hurt? Was something going on that Alex wasn't telling him about? Something dangerous?

Scott sat back down again. He scooted until he had his back against the wall. It would work as a decent support. He looked around and made sure he was well-hidden before settling in. The floor was hard, and it was a little cold, but he didn't mind too much.

A towel hung off the corner of a work table. Scott pulled it down and wrapped it around him. He didn't know how long they were going to take and, while he was staying alert, he needed to stay warm too.

Scott forced his eyes to stay open. He was going to be awake when they came back. One way or another, he was going to get answers.

* * *

"Alex, you still haven't answered my question."

"Yeah, okay, I got that," Alex said.

He cleared his throat. Alex wished that he didn't have to answer, but he needed to let the Professor know what was going to be waiting for them when they landed. It would be dangerous to let the Professor be surprised by Moira's presence. Having him distracted couldn't end well.

Even so, he wished he didn't have to answer.

"Um...do you remember Moira?" he said.

Alex wanted to die as soon as he spoke. The Professor went rigid. One of his hands gripped his armrest.

"I've never forgotten her," he said, his voice low.

"Right. Um, well, we've been...for the past year or so..." Alex said.

The Professor closed his eyes. He could see the tension in his face, the way his teeth were grinding together.

"What?" he asked.

Alex gave up.

"We've all been in contact with Moira for the past year or so," Alex said, "Ever since she got Scott out of going to juvie. And she called me tonight because she's being hunted by members of the Hellfire Club because she's rescued someone they're trying to recruit."

The Professor's eyes flew open.

"What?"

The word came out harsh, and he could see the fury on the Professor's face.

"I was desperate," Alex said, trying to explain, "It was either go to her or give up on finding a way for my brother-"

"That much I understand. I don't approve, but I bloody well understand!" the Professor snapped, "But what I don't understand is why you didn't see fit to tell me!"

The pure force of the Professor's wrath made Alex sink in his seat as low as he could go. Sean and Hank exchanged worried looks. Alex didn't understand what they were so worried about. They weren't the ones undergoing the Spanish Inquisition.

"I mean...I didn't know if it would work at first and then-" Alex tried.

"Then you made the deliberate attempt to hide this from me," the Professor said.

The betrayal and hurt were thick in the Professor's voice. Alex suddenly realized just what it was he'd done. He hadn't just disobeyed orders to get into contact with Moira. Before he might have been able to ignore the fact that he was betraying the Professor's trust, but now it was impossible.

He gripped his armrests tighter as shame stole through him.

"After everything I did to keep her out of this, you dragged her back into it?" the Professor said, "I sympathize with your desire to save your brother, but why did you have to remain in contact with her afterwards?"

The Professor's words sparked something deep inside him. He pushed himself up further and threw aside the shame. He wasn't going to be talked to like that.

"You're right," Alex said, "I should've just used her and then gotten rid of her like you did!"

There was a long silence. The Professor's eyes narrowed, his breath coming in short pants.

"Oh shit," Sean muttered.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand," the Professor said, "I made the decision to-"

"Exactly!" Alex yelled, "You made the decision! Not her, not us! You left us out of it!"

"I hardly see why I had to involve children in the steps that I took to protect them!"

"Children?" Alex snapped.

"Yes, children!" the Professor said, "Despite everything you've done, you are seventeen years old Alex! At the time you were fifteen! As was Sean!"

"And Hank was eighteen!" Alex said, "You didn't involve him!"

"If I told one of you I would've had to tell all of you!" the Professor said, "You wouldn't have understood!"

"Well we'll never know now, will we?" Alex snapped, "You never asked."

"Your behavior now tells me that you wouldn't have," the Professor said, "All you're doing is proving me right!"

Angry tears built up in Alex's eyes. He remembered all of the anger that he'd struggled to keep bottled up when Moira had first been sent away, mixing with the shame over betraying the man who'd taken him in. There was no point in holding any of it back anymore, and it surged through him.

He needed the Professor to understand.

"We didn't get to say goodbye!" he said, "None of us did. You just threw her out without telling us. We didn't know until the next day. What the hell kind of idea was that? We didn't even get-"

"Neither did I!" the Professor said, "Alex, I know you cared about her but I..."

Pain flashed through the Professor's eyes.

"I cared for her and I didn't get to say goodbye either," the Professor said.

"But you made that choice," Alex snapped, "We didn't. And I don't see why we had to cut her loose just because you made a choice that concerned all of us without our consent! Why shouldn't we call her?"

"Because we'd put her in danger!" the Professor said, "Alex, think about tonight. She's being chased because she's-"

"Because she's doing what she'd do anyway," Alex snarled, "She's helping people because that's what she does. She's...don't you..."

He choked on his words.

"Don't you get it?" Alex said, "She's going to be doing this dangerous shit anyway because that's who she is. The only thing you did when you threw her out was prevented her from getting our support."

Alex shook his head, his whole body trembling with a myriad of emotions.

"You...you made it even worse for her," he said, "She didn't have us to help her. Yeah, maybe it would've been dangerous in the beginning, but she was either going to turn us all in or lose everything she's worked for. We all know she would die before doing the first, so she was left with nothing! And worse yet, she was left with no one to turn to! Not the kids she'd helped train and not, not..."

His tongue seemed to be twisted, but the words were flowing too fast to be stopped.

"Not the man she loved either," Alex hissed, "She was left with nothing."

The Professor looked like he was going to speak, somehow protest his innocence, but Alex wasn't going to hear it.

"You and me, we both know what it's like to end up with absolutely nothing!" Alex said, "We both know what that feels like to twist and turn with nowhere to go. But it didn't have to be that way. Not for her, not for you either! You could've had each other-!"

"I would've lost her!" the Professor shouted.

Once again, the force of his words knocked the wind and the courage out of Alex.

"I would've lost her," the Professor said, "To someone, to something. she was safer back where she was. She was better off without me, before me, without us."

He bowed his head.

"You don't understand," the Professor said, "The people's lives you've been in, everyone people you care about, you've made their lives better."

The Professor's words were soft, almost as though they were being forced past his lips.

"You have no idea what it feels like to look back on a relationship, a partnership, and realize that you have given the other person nothing," he asked, "That you have made their life worse by being in it. Wasn't it better to give her the chance to start over, no matter what that meant?"

The Professor looked up at Alex.

"If you could spare your brother suffering by getting out of his life, wouldn't you?" he asked.

The words struck him silent. Alex swallowed. His eyes met the Professor's. For a moment he saw understanding there. Alex wanted to tell him that he wished things could've gone a different way, that he could have made it easier for the Professor to learn who he was going to have to face that night. He didn't think that there was.

"Guys, we're almost at the intersection," Sean said.

Alex's eyes flickered back to the front of the plane. He couldn't meet the Professor's eyes anymore.


	14. Chapter 14

Alex could just make out the car as they landed. He unbuckled and walked up to the windshield to see out. The car sat, unmoving, by the side of the road. It seemed small, almost like it had been abandoned. His heart seized within him. There was no sign of a struggle. Emma couldn't have gotten there that fast.

Then the headlights blinked twice. He sighed in relief and headed towards the back, Sean close behind him. Alex grabbed one of the emergency flashlights. It wasn't a complicated signal to figure out. He'd nearly made it to the back when the Professor grabbed his arm.

Alex turned to him, wondering if he wanted to continue their argument. He could see that the Professor wanted to say something, but he sighed.

"See that she's alright," he said at last.

At a loss for words Alex just nodded. The Professor let go of his arm and Sean caught up with him. Hank opened the hatch doors and the two stepped out. He'd have to talk to Hank about building a walkway in the future. It was always difficult to get the Professor into the plane, but they had a makeshift ramp they folded out. For small excursions like this they had to drop out carefully.

He climbed out, the flashlight in his mouth. Once he was on the ground Alex turned the flashlight on and off twice. Moira got out of the car and waved to him, her motions wide. Alex quickened his pace until he was standing in front of her. She gave him a quick, one-armed hug, before she released him and repeated the motion with Sean.

"You all got here fast," she said.

"Hey, it's what we do," Alex said.

He cleared his throat. It might be a good idea to alert Moira that the Professor was on the Blackbird before she got on.

"By the way-" he began.

"You can come out now," Moira said, turning back to the car, "They're friends."

The other car door opened. A teenager stepped out, wearing thick glasses and a hat. Alex squinted at them. In the dark light it was impossible to tell what gender they were. He saw the defensive stance, almost as though they were trying to decide whether or not to punch him and run away.

He hoped that they decided against it.

"Alright," Moira said, grabbing a duffel bag from the back seat, "That's everything."

"Yeah, about that," Alex said, "I just...we're really glad to see you, but we just figured that we might wanna talk before you get onto the plane."

Moira frowned, shifting the duffel bag with her hand.

"Alex, what are you talking about?" she said.

"Well-" he said.

"Get down!"

Sean shoved him and Moira to the ground just in time to avoid the resulting gust. The ripping winds tore down trees only a few feet from them. Alex saw the Blackbird wobble. The teen rolled behind the car and Alex felt an arm drag him behind the cover. Moira let him go once they were behind it and Sean sat behind it, panting.

"Riptide," Alex muttered.

They had to do something before he let out another blast. He glared at Sean.

"Wanna give us some cover Banshee?" he snapped.

Sean gave him a dirty look.

"I'm just getting some air," he said.

His friend sucked in a deep breath. Moira put her hand on the teen's arm.

"Cover your ears," she said, "Now."

"And get down," Alex said, eyeing the glass windows in the car, "And close your eyes."

The teen obliged and Moira did the same. Alex covered his ears with his glove covered hands and Sean began screaming. Glass sprinkled onto his back and his ears bubbled. Even with his ears covered Sean's screams always made him feel a little sick.

He'd been taught to move through it though. He got to his feet and used his chest plate to focus his power. He shot in the general direction of the wind. The night was momentarily illuminated as the beam crossed the road, setting a few trees on fire when it reached its destination.

Alex wasn't sure if it got Riptide, but they had to move. Sean had already gotten to his feet. Moira was helping the teen with her. In the dying light of the fire Alex could see that, although her hair was tucked away, it was a girl. Her eyes seemed magnified by her glasses, and she looked between the fire and him.

"Interesting friends you've got Moira," she said, her voice weak.

Moira began to smile at her, just as the road lit on fire. He could see Sean staring at him.

"I didn't do that!" he protested.

The flames licked upwards towards the sky, and Alex could see shadows moving within it.

"What the hell?" he said.

"Don't know what it means," the girl said, "But it's sure as shit not good."

"Agreed," Sean said.

"We have to get in the plane," Moira hissed.

Alex nodded and they began running towards the plane. The girl stumbled and her glasses fell off. Her other foot came down, smashing them. For a minute Alex worried: could she run blind? The girl didn't even slow down her step, which answered that question.

The fire swept in front of them, and the shadows seemed to grow larger in the flickering light. His eyes flickered around him. Although he could breath fine, he couldn't see anywhere past the flames. They were trapped.

He began to focus his power in his chest plate, but he didn't know where to aim.

"This isn't Emma, and this isn't Riptide," he said, "What the hell is this?"

The girl stepped forward.

"I might have an idea," she said.

She looked at Moira over her shoulder.

"Sorry about your car," she said.

"It's a rental," Moira said.

The girl laughed. Her hands stretched out and Alex saw the car move. He wanted to ask what was going on, but then the car lifted into the air. Sweating, the girl flicked her hands. The car was sent hurling through the air, making a pathway through the flames.

Alex could vaguely see a bearded man in dark clothes standing at the edge of the road. The car crashed inches in front of him, sending him to the ground as the doors and tires flew into the air. The flames died and the shadow disappeared.

"What-?" Alex began.

"I thought I saw him. He came to recruit me, along with Emma," the girl said, "He does illusions."

"He does damn good illusions," Alex said.

The girl shrugged and looked at the plane. Alex suddenly remembered that they weren't at the Institute having a chat. He made a motion and they started to run towards the Blackbird. The stray thought that he hadn't told Moira that the Professor was there flickered through his mind, but they needed to survive more than they needed to talk. He'd apologize later.

He stood by the hatch, ushering them in. Sean climbed in and put his hand out for the girl. She took it and Alex put his hand on her waist to give her a boost up. She glared at him over her shoulder.

"Watch your hands," she snapped.

Alex opened his mouth, but before he could retort she'd already climbed into the plane. He looked back at Moira and held out his hand. She brushed it off, but the next moment she winced. Alex frowned.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She began to answer, but the next moment she fell to her knees, clutching her head. Alex could feel a migraine coming on. He whipped around in time to see Emma standing next to him, smiling her frigid smile that never meant anything good.

The kick was unexpected. Alex fell to the ground, hitting his head. He began to get up, but a pointed white boot crunched down into his throat. He gasped out and Emma laughed. She shook her head dismissively as Moira began digging her hands deeper into her head.

"You're wasting your time," Emma said, "You don't even know what that girl is, do you? How important? How valuable? No, you just think she's another kindergartner for your playschool."

She began applying more pressure on his throat. Alex kicked up, managing to get her boot off his throat. It hurt like hell, but he was sure that she hadn't crushed the windpipe. He'd just have to speak a little softer over the next few weeks.

His chest plate glowed, but Emma wagged a finger. Moira screamed and fell the rest of the way to the floor.

"You might have mental wards, but she doesn't," Emma laughed, "How about a little hostage exchange?"

Alex got ready to tell her to go to hell, but he knew that wasn't smart. He didn't know what he could say that wouldn't cause Moira more pain. Emma was getting impatient, and Alex swallowed. He had to say something, but more than that, he had to do something.

Suddenly, Emma screamed and clutched her head. Moira's cries stopped. She began breathing heavily, struggling to get to her feet. Alex grabbed her arm and helped her up. He looked away from Emma, knowing exactly what was happening. It seemed like they'd been loud enough for the Professor to hear them.

He brought Moira closer to the plane. She seemed a little clumsy, but he knew that could happen right after someone invaded your mind. It looked like Emma hadn't done any lasting damage, but she was definitely going to need help getting into the plane.

Sean reached out and took Moira's hands. Alex risked looking back Emma, seeing her confusion and disorientation. Her hands were clenched into fists by her head.

"Yeah, we're not dumb," he said, glorying in the moment, "Looks like the Professor's hates the sight of your face just as much as we do."

As soon as the words left his tongue he knew they were a mistake. Pain and shock laced Moira's face. Alex cursed his lack of delicacy, the fact that he had decided to tell her that the Professor was there through a taunt to their enemy.

It was too late for anything else though. Sean pulled Moira up and Alex pushed her back. He climbed in right after her and saw Sean helping her into a seat next to the girl. The girl shot her a concerned look and Moira made a vague motion with her hand.

"I'm fine..." she murmured.

Alex buckled in.

"Floor it Hank!" he said.

His vocal chords screamed in protest. He'd need to pay a bit more attention to his volume level from then on out. The plane took off, a little jarringly. Alex looked out his window and saw Emma on her knees, glaring up at them.

Once she faded from sight Alex risked a glance back at Moira. She had her head bowed, her breaths sharp. Alex could see the Professor staring at her with anguish and uncertainty. There was so much pain there, so much for withholding something he thought would cause her pain.

Despite himself, he felt sorry for the Professor. He'd been in misery over his decision, but he'd kept silent on it. More than that though, it was the Professor. Alex owed him everything. He wanted him to be happy, no matter what that meant. He just had the feeling that it might not be with Moira.

Alex willed her to look up, just to let the Professor have some sign of her feelings. He was curious himself, aware of his own guilt in bringing about the meeting. He should have thought ahead, told Moira on the phone that they'd have to have the Professor with them.

She didn't look up though. The girl next to her put her hand on her shoulder and glanced around. Alex briefly thought about Emma's words. He didn't know what she'd meant by saying that the girl was valuable, that they didn't know who she was.

He brushed it off. No doubt Emma wanted to use her power for something or other. Across from him the girl sighed, unaware of the tension in the air, and took off her hat. She ruffled her hair with her hands, allowing the green locks to tumble down her back.


	15. Chapter 15

"So why do you have to drive to the hanger? Seems kinda counterintuitive."

"Hey, when you figure out a way to have the plane come out of the basketball court, tell us."

Scott woke up. His feet and fingers were stiff from the cold, and his neck ached from the position he was in. They were back though, and he was awake now. Someone turned on the light and he shrunk back, anxious not to be seen.

The group that had left had come back, but there were two new people with them. Scott saw that the girl's hair was green. It didn't surprise him too much, Ororo's hair was white. The other woman was tall and had auburn hair. Her lips were drawn into a thin line, as though she were trying to figure something out.

Scott dismissed them fairly quickly. It was much more shocking to see what his brother was wearing. The jumpsuit was made of a thick fabric, and the colors were strange. Blue and yellow didn't seem like a great combination to him, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. He didn't want to get discovered after all.

They were all wearing it. Well, not all of them, but Alex's friends were wearing it too. It was like it was some kind of uniform. It wasn't the kind of uniform that his father had worn when he'd had to go into work though. This was something different.

It reminded him of the comics he kept up in his room. He'd always loved reading _The Invaders_, but he'd also always thought that Captain America's uniform was a little bright. He was in the middle of a war zone after all. His father had taught him enough about camouflage to know that wearing those shades would attract far too much attention.

Why was his brother wearing it though? It didn't make any sense. He watched as they began to file out.

"There's a room you can use on the second floor Lorna," the Professor said, "We can go there right now if you'd like."

"Actually," the auburn-haired woman said, her voice quiet, "I need to have a word with you."

The Professor nodded, his face resigned.

"Could you show her to her room Alex?" he asked.

Alex made a face.

"I don't know which one you're talking about," he said.

"Obviously it's the one above the kitchen," Sean said.

Alex shot his friend a withering look.

"Everything's food with you," he said.

Lorna snorted and adjusted the duffel bag she was carrying. She looked at the auburn-haired woman once, almost as though looking for confirmation. The woman nodded and Lorna headed out of the room.

"Lead the way Havok," she said.

His brother winced. She'd meant him? What did that name mean?

"Don't call me that when we're in the school," Alex mumbled.

Lorna flashed a brilliant grin and headed out. Alex followed her, and Hank and Sean followed him. Hank gave a last, worried look, at the woman and the Professor before leaving. Scott wondered what everyone was so worried about.

He knew what he was worried about. Scott wasn't going to be able to get out of his hiding place if the Professor and the woman were still in the room. He'd be stuck there for who only knew how long. If he was there for too long then his brother would surely notice that he wasn't in his bed. Then he'd have to explain just why he wasn't in his bed and what he'd been doing.

Scott winced at the thought of the trouble he was going to be in soon.

"We need to talk," the woman said.

"I know," the Professor sighed.

He saw the Professor look around them.

"It might be better to do this outside though," he said, "It's a little..."

"Auto-shoppy?" the woman said.

The Professor chuckled, but it sounded sad to Scott.

"Yes, that," he said.

The woman nodded. She reached for the handlebars on the Professor's wheelchair before hesitating. The woman took a deep breath and closed her eyes, almost as though she were steeling herself for something. There seemed to be a lot of that.

Opening her eyes, she grabbed the handlebars and pushed him towards the exit.

"Moira...there's no need-"

"I've got it," Moira said.

Scott waited until the two of them were gone. He tossed the towel off and headed upstairs towards his room. He had no idea what Moira wanted to talk to the Professor about, but he recognized the name. Moira was the woman who had helped him come to the school.

Although he didn't know her, he already liked her.

* * *

Moira stopped the wheelchair a few steps from the front door of the Institute. Charles was glad that she hadn't gone too much further. If she had, they would have ended up at the same place where he'd sent her away.

He'd thought he was doing the right thing. There wasn't anything left for her there, and he'd hoped that she could start a new, happy life without them. He hadn't known that his first students harbored resentment over the situation. He'd thought that it only concerned him and Moira and he'd felt that he cold reconcile himself to that pain if it meant happiness for Moira.

He'd been wrong. He should have seen that her absence would hurt his students. They had kept a secret from him, something that they should have been able to tell him. Instead they had secretly gotten into communication with her.

He couldn't blame them: not really. There had been times when he'd ached to talk to her, although not for the reasons that his students had. She would have been the only one who really understood about the problems at the school. Moira was not only his peer, but she had a sharp intellect and a wonderful ability for compassion. She was everything he admired about humans, everything that reminded him why they had to fight to coexist. A species that had produced someone like Moira was worth living with.

He'd reconciled himself to the thought that he was never going to see her again. Now she stood by him, her arms crossed and her eyes looking anywhere but him. He ached to touch her, but his touch wouldn't be welcome. Not after what he'd done.

"I think that Emma's interested in Lorna because she can control metal, like Erik," Moira said after a few minutes, "I think she wants someone on her side who has the same power."

Her words shocked him. He'd been expecting something different. Nonetheless, he mustered up a reply.

"It would be useful for her," Charles said.

"There may be more too it though," Moira said, "I'd have to do more research but Lorna might...never mind. Like I said, I don't know for certain."

Although Charles's curiosity was peaked, he knew he couldn't ask. He couldn't ask her for anything. Silence stretched out between them, mocking him. He looked nervously up at Moira. Her eyes were still fixed somewhere far off.

"I'm sorry."

The words burst out of him. Moira's eyes flickered back to him.

"Is that all?" she said, her voice low, "Because that isn't enough Charles."

"No," Charles said.

He looked down. Charles knew that she was searching for eye contact, but now that she wanted it, he found that he couldn't give it to her.

"I thought that I was doing the right thing," he said.

"I'm going to have to disagree," Moira said, her voice stiff.

"You should," Charles said quietly, "It was a mistake."

"If it was wrong, then why did you do it?"

The words sounded choked. Charles closed his eyes, fighting the urge to look up. He couldn't bear to think of the way that she would look at him now.

"I...I wanted more for you," he said.

"What?"

He took a deep breath.

"I wanted more for you! More than a school that may or may not work out, a life where one misstep meant the government crashing down on us. More than years spent worrying about whether or not Erik would carry out his threats against humanity," Charles said, the words that he had kept in for so long spilling out, "More than being in a place where students would mistrust you because you were human or, worse, look down on you. And I..."

He clenched his hands into fists.

"And more than anything I wanted...I wanted more for you than a man who was broken in body and in spirit," he said, "I wanted more for you."

There was another silence. He could hear Moira shift on her feet.

"That's the most selfless selfish thing I've ever heard," she said.

He smiled, but he wanted to cry. If this was to be the last time that she talked to him though, he didn't want her to remember him crying like a child.

"I want to hate you for it," she said, "And I'm angry at you...but I don't hate you."

She snorted.

"Despite my better judgment."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her rub her temples.

"Charles, did it occur to you that I didn't see it that way?" she asked.

"You wouldn't, would you?" he asked, "You're too good."

"And you're too pessimistic," she said, "Because I wanted that life. The good and the bad. I wanted to protect the people I had brought into this life, see this place become a school. Even after everything that happened...even after..."

She leaned back against the wall of the school.

"I lost myself to your dream," she said, "And it broke my heart when you didn't want me to be part of it."

"It wasn't a question of want," Charles pleaded.

"It never is with you," Moira said.

She sighed again.

"Charles, I'm here now. I hadn't expected to be, but I am. You can thank Alex for that," she said.

"He does have a way, doesn't he?" Charles said.

The corners of her lips twitched briefly.

"Charles, I've burned a lot of bridges to get Lorna here," she said, "I don't regret it, but I'm going to see her settled and safe. And then I want to stay. You could probably use someone to help organize this place and recruit for it."

Warmth burned through him. She'd be here. She'd be in the Institute. The warmth suddenly turned cold when he realized that she wouldn't want anything to do with him. Not like that. Not as anything other than another member of the faculty.

Even so, she would be there.

"It's not unreasonable," he said, "Does anyone know you were coming here?"

"I didn't even know where here was," Moira said, "It's why I called Alex."

"He told me," Charles said.

He raised his head and looked at the grounds.

"We'll have to...figure something out," he said, "There are a few guest rooms-"

"I remember where they are," Moira said.

She walked up behind him.

"Do you want me to bring you back inside?" she said.

Charles shook his head.

"I'd like to stay out here a little longer," he said.

There was a pause. He heard Moira's steps on the gravel and he closed his eyes.

"Charles, this is the life I want," she said.

He didn't turn, didn't open his eyes. He couldn't.

"I wanted to help all of you, wanted that chance," she said, "I wanted to build this dream with you all. This is the life that I want."

She took a deep breath.

"I just don't know if I want you Charles."

His eyes opened and he looked back at her. Moira was looking at him sadly, her hands by her side.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet," she said.

Without another word she turned and walked into the Institute.


	16. Chapter 16

The paper was covered in pencil smudges and erase marks. Scott looked worried, but Alex knew that everything was going to be okay. The problem was complicated, and it was obvious that Scott had been trying for a while. It was pretty advanced stuff. Soon Alex wouldn't be able to help his brother with his math homework anymore.

Today was not that day though.

"Okay, and then you just have to divide," Alex said.

"Got it," Scott said.

He stuck the tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Alex noticed Scott's hand shake a little as he wrote down his answer.

"Done!" he said.

Scott looked up at Alex for approval, and Alex did some quick calculations in his head. He raised his palm up.

"Awesome. Give me five Scotty boy," he said.

Scott's face lit up as he high-fived Alex.

"That's the last of my homework," Scott said.

"And?" Alex said.

"And?" Scott prompted.

Alex snorted.

"Fine, fine," he said, "Go put this stuff away and I'll dish out a few bowels of ice cream for us. Got it?"

Scott punched the air. He gathered up his books and dashed off. Alex grinned. It was good to see his brother so lighthearted. He still remembered his sobbing panic as Alex forced him to use his powers.

It seemed like he'd forgotten it. He certainly acted like he did. Kids were resilient, although Alex knew that there were boundaries to this resilience. He'd have to be a bit more careful from that point out. Scott was more fragile than he'd thought, and he would have to remember that.

He pushed up and headed towards the kitchen. Alex opened up the freezer and put out a tub of ice cream so it could thaw. While the Professor filled the fridge with healthy food, he still managed to put some ice cream in the freezer.

The Professor. He paused by the gallon of ice cream before heading towards the dishes. Alex thought he'd get chewed out for what had happened with Moira. Instead the Professor had kept silent on the subject. If anything he seemed happier, although Alex never saw Moira in anything like a private setting with him. The last time he'd played cards with Scott he'd mentioned to Sean that he thought the Professor was happier. Sean had agreed, although it was an uncertain topic.

He reached up to the cupboards and opened the spoon drawer with his foot. Alex grabbed two bowels and kicked the bottom of the drawer. A spoon flew out and he kicked the drawer again. Another spoon rattled loose. He leaned forward and snatched both of the spoons before they hit the floor. He put them on the counter and crouched down. He opened one of the lower cupboards and began to search for the ice cream scoop.

"Neat trick."

He banged his head on the counter. He grabbed the ice cream scoop and got up, rubbing his head. Lorna was standing in the doorway, grinning at him. Alex rolled his eyes and opened up the ice cream.

"Oh," he said.

"What?" Lorna asked.

"Nothing. Just thought it was someone important," he said, "I was wrong."

He glanced out of the corner of his eye, waiting. She raised her eyebrows at the challenge.

"If you think that, then it just proves that you're even stupider than you look," she said.

Alex laughed to himself. Despite the fact that she was a pain in the neck, there was something about her that he couldn't quite place. It was fun to bandy words around with her, although he got the sneaking suspicion that she was smarter than him. It wasn't a hard leap of logic when she consistently finished her tests before he did.

Normally he'd have blamed it on the glasses, but he'd later learned that she'd been using fake ones that night to stay hidden. She leaned on the counter next to him and looked at the ice cream. Her silver necklace leaned over the bowl, casting reflections when it caught the light.

"Chocolate chip?" Lorna asked.

"Yeah," he said.

She nodded in approval and then noticed the second bowl.

"So, who's the second bowel for?" Lorna asked.

"My brother," Alex said, "He finished his homework early."

He began to dish out some of the ice cream. He stuck one of the spoons into the bowel.

"Good for him," Lorna said, "He's a smart kid."

Alex grinned at hearing his brother praised. He finished dishing out the ice cream and put the lid on the tub.

"How's your science homework coming?" Lorna asked.

"I said that this is for him, not for me," Alex said.

She nudged his shoulder. He nudged her back and picked up the spoon from one of the bowels and tasted it. Chocolate and vanilla: a winning ice cream combination. He tossed the ice cream scooper into the sink and put the tub away in the freezer.

"Hey, Alex?" Lorna said.

"What?" Alex said.

"I was just wondering if you'd answer a question for me," she said.

He rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. I have no idea why you're such a pain in the ass," he said.

She made a face and flexed her fingers. The spoon in his hand flew out of his grip and into hers. He really hated magnetism. Her power's similarity to Magneto's was unnerving, but it made sense. Of course Emma would want someone on her team whose power could match Magneto's.

"I want that back," he said.

"If you answer my question, then you can have it," Lorna said.

"I already told you-"

"My question," Lorna said, her voice raised, "is if you know what's going on with Moira and the Professor. They act a little weird around each other, and I was wondering why."

Alex grimaced.

"They still haven't figured it out," he mumbled.

"Figured what out?" Lorna asked.

He winced. He hadn't realized that he'd said it out loud.

"Um, it's complicated," Alex said.

Lorna nodded knowledgeably.

"They had a thing, didn't they?" she asked.

"It was kind of more than a thing," Alex said, "And then..."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"It was a couple of years ago, and then…I don't know how to explain it," he said.

"Try," Lorna said.

He let out a frustrated breath.

"I want my damn spoon back," Alex said.

"Not until you tell me what's going on with those two," Lorna said.

"Why's this so important?" Alex asked.

She looked at him like he was an idiot. Lorna did that a lot. He'd never liked it. She shook her head once and pulled herself up on top of the counter top. Lorna sat cross-legged and rested her chin on one of her hands.

"Moira saved my life," she said, "My mom..."

She swallowed and glared down at the table. One of her hands fiddled with her necklace. Alex knew the feeling.

"After my mom died," Lorna said, her voice level, "and Emma showed up, everything went to hell. Then Moira came and offered me a way to get out of all of that. And now I'm here and...well, it's not the Ritz, but it's better than whatever Emma wanted, and it's definitely better than the foster system."

"With you one hundred precent on that one," Alex said.

"My point is that I owe her. She's done so much for me, and I don't think that she's had an easy time of things," Lorna said.

"Gonna have to agree with you on that one too," Alex sighed.

"I just want her to be happy," Lorna said, "And she seems happy here. Most of the time anyway. But whenever she's around the Professor...something seems to happen."

"I personally think they're both in denial," Alex snorted, "But if she can't forgive him for what he did then he doesn't stand much of a chance."

Lorna's eyes narrowed.

"What did he do?" she asked.

Alex coughed. He didn't see anything wrong with telling Lorna what happened, but still.

"Just don't repeat this, and don't tell anyone I told you," he said.

"Sure thing," Lorna said.

He rubbed the back of his head. It was still throbbing slightly. There was no delicate way to say this.

"There were some bad people after us, and the Professor wanted her to be safe, so he kind of erased some of her memories and sent her off," Alex said.

Lorna gaped at him.

"That is seriously messed up," she said.

"Well, I don't agree," he said, feeling a little defensive, "But...well, he cared about her and he was just trying to keep her safe-"

Lorna shook her head, her fingers tapping on the counter.

"That's not an excuse," she said.

"It's not perfect," Alex admitted, "But I understand-"

"Well I don't," Lorna said, her voice annoyed.

"Look, it was dumb, but it was pretty selfless," Alex said.

"No it wasn't," Lorna said, "That's not his choice to make."

It was Alex's choice to gape.

"What?" he asked.

Lorna pursed her lips.

"It's not his choice to throw someone out of his life who loves him," she said, "It's their choice whether or not they want to leave. Whether it's the right choice or not...it's theirs. It's their life."

There was a long pause. Alex looked uncomfortably at his feet.

"And trust me," Lorna said, "I'm speaking from personal experience."

He forced himself to look up.

"What do you mean?" he said, "If...I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

She grinned, but it didn't reach the rest of her eyes. He'd never seen her grin like that.

"I don't have a father Alex," she said, "I'm not exactly sure what happened, mom never really explained it, but I could figure it out. He was pretty selfish. He decided my mom was better off without him. Left before he found out she was pregnant."

Lorna continued fiddling with her necklace.

"I won't say that I think things would've been perfect if he'd been there, but I think it would've been easier on her sometimes if she'd had someone to be there for her," she said, "Someone who would've supported her in raising a girl whose hair turned green when she was fifteen. Someone to help her."

Alex rubbed his chin. She laughed.

"Look at us, talking like we're a hundred years old," she said, "We're just kids."

He shook his head slowly.

"I don't think you believe that," Alex said, "I know I don't."

There was another forced smile. He felt something deep within him start to move as Lorna slid off the counter. She knew what she was talking about, another mutant who'd struggled in a world they weren't ready for. She hadn't drifted for as long as he had, but she knew what it felt like.

"You're doing a good job you know," Alex said.

"What do you mean?" she said, pausing halfway to the door.

"Coping," he said, "I didn't cope so well when everything fell apart for me. I mean, you're laughing."

"Either I laugh or I cry," Lorna said.

"I'm glad that you chose laughing," Alex said.

Lorna shrugged, although he thought he could see her blush faintly. She looked out into the hallway, her expression thoughtful.

"Alex," she said, "If I were to propose..."

"The answer may be yes," Alex said, "But you'd definitely have to have a ring."

"Not in a million years," she said, "I was talking about something else."

"Like?" he asked.

She turned back to him, her expression still thoughtful.

"Think it's possible to kind of...well, you know the Professor, and I think I know Moira," she said, "Think it's possible to keep an eye on them?"

"Meaning?" Alex asked.

"They need someone to watch out for them," Lorna said, "It looks like they might not be the best people to trust when it comes to managing their lives."

"You can say that again," Alex said.

Lorna nodded and headed out of the room. Scott ran in after her. He almost ran into her, and she lightly sidestepped him.

"Watch yourself Scott," she said.

"Okay," Scott said.

He waited until she was gone to continue to run into the kitchen. His eyes lit up when he saw the ice cream.

"Awesome, chocolate chip!" he said.

His brother climbed on one of the stools. Alex handed him a bowl and watched as his brother tucked in. Even for all of his enthusiasm, Scott tended to eat a little slow. Alex ate faster, and he looked after Lorna thoughtfully.

"Alex?" Scott asked.

"Yep?" Alex asked.

"Lorna...I was wondering..." he said.

Alex continued to wait, barely listening.

"Do you like her?"

Alex nearly choked on his ice cream. He looked down at Scott, who returned his gaze curiously.

"Don't be weird," Alex said.


	17. Chapter 17

"Seriously, you should've let me drive," Alex said.

Moira rolled her eyes. Scott could see the reflection in the review mirror.

"I'd like to get back to the Institute in one piece, thank you very much," she said.

Alex drew back as Scott giggled.

"Hey, I'd never do anything stupid on the road," he said.

Moira raised her eyebrows.

"Scott's in the car," he said.

She let out a disbelieving laugh. Scott laughed too, although his brother's words were comforting. He fiddled with his seatbelt and looked out the window at the passing scenery. It was beautiful outside, although it was all tinted with red.

It was one of the first times that he'd been outside the Institute since he'd come there. Scott hadn't been afraid to go out, not exactly. It was just that he had no reason to do so. Everything he wanted was in the Institute.

Then Alex had invited him on a supply run. It had been fairly pleasant. There was only one more stop to make in an out of the way town. Alex told Scott that they didn't usually go there, but the hardware store they usually went to had been out of the types of nuts and bolts that they needed.

To be honest, he didn't know why they needed such a great quantity. Hank was always fiddling in his lab, true enough, but Scott knew that he couldn't use all of those on his small inventions. Maybe the plane needed repairs?

Of course, after what he'd seen the night Lorna had come, he suspected that it was something else. What was Hank building for whatever it was that he and his brother did? What was it exactly that they did?

Scott was starting to get the sinking feeling that, whatever it was they did, it involved fighting. More than that, it was dangerous. His brother was in dangerous situations, and Scott had no clue about them.

He wished that he could ask him. He'd been ready to do so, but when he'd faced his brother, he couldn't do it. He couldn't demand that his brother tell him what was going on, because then he'd be saying he was keeping secrets. Scott wished he had the courage to call his brother a liar.

Then again, how could he? He couldn't even get the courage to shoot at a target across a bomb shelter. He'd had to be prompted to do it, and he'd made a mess of it. Then he'd bawled like a baby afraid of the thunder. Scott was sure that was why Alex didn't bring it up again. He must know he was embarrassed.

The car pulled into the hardware store. Scott peeped out of the car and looked at the town. It certainly was small. Alex got out of the car and Scott saw that several people gave him hostile looks. His brother let out a low whistle.

"I'm thinking we get in and get out pretty quick," he said.

Moira unbuckled and got out. Scott followed suit. She looked around them and shrugged.

"It's a small town," she said, "I'm sure they just don't like new people."

"Yeah, I got that part of it," Alex said, "They definitely weren't like this last time though."

He looked down at Scott.

"You stay close to either me or Moira, okay?" he said.

"Okay."

Moira sighed and shook her head as they went into the hardware store. Scott saw gumball machines by the pay phones and wondered if Alex would give him a quarter for one later. He didn't have an allowance, and sometimes he felt it.

"You're very protective," Moira said.

"Someone's gotta make sure he doesn't run off and do something stupid," Alex said.

He ruffled Scott's hair affectionately. Moira just laughed.

"Sometimes you cross the line from protective older brother into teasing father," she laughed.

Alex immediately stiffened. Scott looked up at him uncertainly. Moira glanced over her shoulder and saw Alex's expression. She looked away.

"Anyway," she said, "how many orders did we need exactly?"

Alex relaxed a little and began browsing the rows.

"More than they put in these little boxes, I can tell you that much," he said.

His brother scratched his chin.

"I'm gonna go see if you can order in bulk," he said, "They usually have a counter for that, even in a rundown little shithole like this."

"Alex, watch your language," Moira said, "I don't think they'd appreciate you talking that way about their town."

Alex shrugged. He ruffled Scott's hair again.

"See you in five Scotty boy," Alex said.

He walked off, whistling nonchalantly. Moira looked after him and smiled.

"You know, when I first met your brother, he didn't whistle," she said.

Scott glanced up at her. Although they hadn't discussed it, he still knew that she was the woman who'd helped him. She also knew the Professor, and from snatches of conversations he'd figured out that there was something strange between the two.

Moira was a woman he didn't really knew, but respected. They hadn't ever really held a conversation though, and it made him a little nervous.

"He doesn't do it all the time," Scott said.

"He seems happy, more like himself," Moira mused, looking around the shelves.

He wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Alex is Alex," Scott said.

"Of course," Moira said, "I just think he may be a bit more like Alex now."

Scott paused. He had no idea what she meant.

"Huh?" he asked.

She smiled.

"Scott, your brother wasn't very happy before he found you," Moira said, "When I met him, even seeing his record, I thought he was a little lost. Not dangerous."

Dangerous. His brother was doing dangerous things. The thought echoed uncomfortably in his head.

"He's...better now," she said, "Happier. I think he's found the path again."

She looked back down at him, her face open and honest. Scott wasn't sure that he understood everything she was saying, but he appreciated that she was trying.

"I guess I'm just saying that it's good for him to have you," she said, "And I think it's done wonders for him, you being back in his life."

"Thanks," Scott said.

She laughed again. Scott racked his brains, trying to figure out something nice to say back to her.

"And I think you're good for the Professor," he said.

She stopped laughing. Scott bit his lip, suddenly uncertain.

"He seems happier that you're here," he said, feeling like he needed to explain, "Alex says it's kinda easier to talk to him now. Not that it wasn't before, just that I think he likes it that you're here."

Moira looked away, her expression sad. Scott wished he could stop talking, but to his horror words kept pouring out.

"I mean, he seems kinda sad to for some reason but, um, I heard Sean say that it was about time and uh..."

Scott trailed off, feeling stupider by the moment. Moira shook her head, her eyes still sad.

"It's like kids wanting mommy and daddy to get back together," she murmured.

"Huh?" Scott said.

"Nothing," Moira said, "It was nice of you to say that. Even if it isn't true."

He frowned.

"It is true," he said.

She looked like she was going to argue, but in the end she just shook her head. An uncomfortable silence descended on them. Scott cast around, trying to figure out a way to fill that silence.

"Can I get a gumball?" he asked.

Moira started, as though he were dragging her out of her own thoughts. He felt like an idiot all over again.

"Of course," she said.

She started fishing through her pockets with change. Moira handed him a quarter and then looked back at the shelves.

"Can you come with me?" Scott said.

Moira furrowed her brow, and then stopped.

"Because of what your brother said, right?" she asked.

He nodded. She smiled and shook her head.

"Alright," she said, "It shouldn't take too long."

Scott hurried out of the store, Moira following him. He didn't want to take too long, but he wanted a red gumball. There were three machines, and he had to figure out which one had the most red ones. It was always a little difficult telling color with his glasses, but red things showed up deeper than anything next to black.

He began counting when he heard a noise behind him.

"What?" Moira murmured.

Scott turned and saw a group of people rush into the square. She put a hand on Scott's shoulder, frowning.

"Which way did it go?" one of them demanded.

"It couldn't have gotten far!"

"We should spread out-"

"And risk facing it alone? You know what the Reverend said-"

Another man ran into the middle of the square, yelling in triumph.

"It's one street over!" he called.

The men began to file out. Moira's grip on Scott's shoulder tightened.

"Scott, go find your brother," she said, "Tell him you saw a strange crowd and that I went after them."

"What?" Scott asked.

"Just tell him, and then get inside and stay there," Moira said.

Without another word she took off after the men. Feeling panicked Scott turned and ran back into the store. The quarter felt hot and slippery in his tightly clenched fist. He couldn't let it go though.

He found his brother at the back of the store, looking bored. His face immediately became concerned when he saw Scott.

"Scotty boy, what the hell?" he said.

"There ware a lot of angry people and Miss Moira went after them," Scott said, feeling panicked, "Alex, they were shouting-"

"Shhh," Alex said.

He looked around and put a hand around Scott's shoulders. Alex walked to the front of the store.

"Which way did they go?" he asked, his voice urgent.

Fear gripped Scott.

"No," Scott said.

"What?" Alex said.

"You can't go out there," Scott said, "It's dangerous-"

"Hey, it's me," Alex said, "You know I'm tough. It's not a big deal-"

"You need to stop doing dangerous stuff!" Scott cried out.

Alex stared at him. Scott swallowed, his throat feeling tight and his eyes stinging.

"I know what you do," he said.

His brother started, and Scott plowed on. It wasn't a complete truth, but he had to say , not courage, forced the words out.

"I know what you do when you where those yellow and blue jumpsuits," he said, the words coming fast and thick, all of his bottled emotions coming to the top, "I don't want you doing it! You're gonna get hurt! You gotta stop Alex. I don't want-"

"Scott!" Alex said.

His voice was low and commanding. Scott stopped talking. He looked up at his brother with shining eyes, begging him not to go out.

"I'm not gonna get hurt," Alex said.

"You've already gotten hurt," Scott said.

"Nothing serious," Alex said, "And even if I do...look, I'm not gonna leave you again. You need to understand that."

Scott stifled a sob.

"As for the other stuff, we're gonna hafta talk about that," Alex said, "But not now. I can't leave Moira out there on her own Scott. You need to tell me which way she went, or she may get hurt. Bad."

Scott swallowed again. His vision blurring he pointed a shaky finger in the direction that Moira had run. Alex hugged him quickly.

"Stay in here, stay out of sight, and stay safe," Alex said, "Don't you dare get hurt. I'll be back for you in a minute. Promise?"

He nodded, feeling like he was going to scream. His brother gave him a quick smile before running out the door. Scott watched him go, feeling helpless and scared. His brother was running off into danger, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

There was though. He looked down at the quarter in his palm. Barely thinking Scott ran out of the store and put the quarter into the nearest pay phone. He dialed the Institute and prayed that they would pick up. He recited the name of the town of his head, what was happening, and prayed that they would be in time to help.


	18. Chapter 18

Moira wasn't absolutely sure what she was going to find when she followed the mob. It might have been nothing, and she might have just left a frightened ten-year-old to fend for himself in the middle of an unfamiliar place. Something in her gut told her that it wasn't nothing though, and that she had to keep going or something terrible would happen.

The crowd in front of her stopped. There were a few muttered cheers and jostling to get to the front. She stepped in between them, using the jostling as a way to insert herself into the crowd. Most of them didn't notice her, their eyes glued on the scene in front of them.

"It is your diligence that has made this possible!"

The crowd roared in approval. She could just see the man over the heads of the people in front of her. Moira managed to make it to the front row, wriggling past a few members of the crowd.

The world stopped. There was a man in front of the crowd, his face proud and cold. He was the one who'd spoken. She wasn't looking at him though. She was looking past him, at the small figure huddled up against the street's dead end.

The girl couldn't have been more than six. Her long, filthy hair hid most of her face, and her hands clutched at the wall. A distant thought registered that the hands were furry, the fingers tipped with claws. Moira could see two amber eyes peering at the crowd in fear.

She was sobbing, her whimpers audible even above the roar of the crowd. Moira could hear her blood pulsing in her ears, the beat of the world coming down to one frightened child.

"Rejoice, for today-!" the man began.

Moira stepped forwards, her eyes glowing.

"Get the hell out of my way!" she yelled.

She shoved the man out of the way, knocking him to the ground. A hush fell over the crowd and Moira stepped up to the child. The girl whimpered again and pulled herself further away, as though she were trying to force her way through the wall by sheer will.

Moira knelt in front of her.

"It's okay," she said, keeping her voice as low and soothing as possible, "It's okay."

The girl didn't look up. Now that she was closer Moira could see the marks on her arms and face, her scarred feet. They'd hurt her. The burning anger she felt caught on fire and began licking upwards through her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Moira got to her feet and turned to the man. He was looking at her in a righteous fury, his head tilted up in derision. She recognized the tone and expression. Men had been giving it to her since she'd joined the CIA. She'd seen it most prominently in Stryker and in McCone the day she'd put the final nail in her career's coffin.

She'd sworn that she was through getting that look.

"I'm helping a child that a crowd of adults has seen fit to terrorize," she said, her voice icy.

He snorted.

"Woman, that is no child," he said, "That is the Devil's own daughter, a creature-"

"She's a child!" Moira snarled.

She stepped forward, her hands clenched into fists. The man took a quick step backwards before composing himself.

"She is no child of this earth," he said.

Moira shook her head in disgust.

"Just because she's a little different means absolutely nothing," she hissed.

"You're in no position to lecture us," the man said.

She paused, for a moment unsure what he was talking about. Then she remembered the crowd behind him. Moira cursed herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Moira was outnumbered, and she wasn't sure when Alex would get there. Even he might not be enough.

Moira squared her shoulders though. There was no way she was going to step aside.

"Are you all proud?" she asked.

She gestured towards the girl.

"Look at her!" she said, "Does this make you happy, what you've done? Look at her!"

"It's just one of the Devil's tricks," the man said.

Moira sneered at him. He was going to play up religion to justify what they had done to the child? Two could play at that game. She'd gone to a Methodist school for the first six years of her education.

"The Lord rebuke thee," she said.

The man drew himself up and gestured to her.

"Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," he said.

"And it looks like he's already devoured you," Moira said.

The man turned to her again, his eyes on fire. Moira knew that he probably had a whole arsenal of out-of-context quotes to use, hellfire to scare the crowd with. She wasn't going to give him the chance to use them.

"You all seem convinced that this child is a demon," Moira said, "But how certain are you about me? Because, and trust me when I say that I mean this, you're going to have to kill me to get to her."

The crowd shifted, uncomfortable at this. Moira stepped squarely in front of the girl, her chin jutting out in defiance.

"You make a flimsy shield," the man said.

"So you would be willing," Moira said.

He straightened.

"If my work demands it," he said, "Then yes. You will be removed."

Moira smiled, but her expression grim.

"You can try," she said.

The man stepped forward, his face a snarl. Moira lashed out with her foot, kicking him back onto the cobbles. He looked at her in shock, but she gave him a level stare. Her time with the CIA hadn't been a complete waste.

It was something of a surprise when the man pulled a gun out of his pocket. The crowd seemed to panic at that, and Moira began looking around for something she could use, some way to dodge his shot.

There wasn't though. Not without stepping away from the child. She stared at the gun, feeling her life flickering before her eyes, her accomplishments, and her failures. Lastly she saw Charles sitting in his office, giving her the desperate look he gave her sometimes when he thought she wasn't looking.

"You pull that trigger and it's gonna be the last damn thing you do!"

The man turned his head just in time to get tackled by Alex. The gun went off, the bullet flying upwards. All hell broke loose amongst the crowd. Some people began to surge forward to help, but others were swept away by several who decided to run.

Moira could just see Alex tussling with the man. She moved to make sure that the man stayed down, but two men moved towards the child. The girl gave another soft whimper, and Moira ran in front of her.

She punched the first man in the throat and used the other one's momentum to trip him. They both looked up at her.

"I said you'd have to go through me," she hissed, "I meant it."

The men looked between her and the child. They got to their feet and scurried away. Moira took in a deep breath, her heartbeat sounding like a samba. She looked back into the crowd, trying to see Alex.

After a moment she saw him run back around the corner. His knuckles were bloody and his eyes fierce as he ran against the fleeing crowd.

"I lost him," he seethed.

"He's not important," Moira said.

She turned back to the child.

"She is," Moira said.

Alex followed her gaze. He started when he saw the girl.

"Is this...was all this...?" he asked.

"Yes," Moira said.

"Is she-?"

"Yes," Moira said.

* * *

Alex couldn't believe it. It was all over a child. Now that he looked closely he saw her furry hands, her scared, amber eyes. She was injured, not seriously, but more than any child her age should be.

They'd done this because she was a mutant. The thought galloped through him. He wished he'd been able to punch the man a few more times before he'd gotten away. They'd hunted down a little girl who looked like she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

Moira walked towards her slowly, crouching as she did so.

"It's okay," she said, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl lifted her head a little, her eyes still frightened.

"Who...who are you?" she stammered.

"My name's Moira," Moira said.

"Moi-ra," the girl said.

"Right," Moira said, smiling.

The girl peered at her. Alex saw the bruises on her face and clenched his fist behind his back. She noticed him then and scooted back.

"Who's he?" the girl said.

"He's a friend," Moira said, "His name is Alex."

"Alex," the girl repeated.

He forced himself to hide his anger. He needed to be friendly, to play the part of a teacher welcoming a traumatized student.

"That's me," Alex said.

The girl looked between the two of them again, still a little uncertain.

"Where are your parents?" Moira asked.

The girl shook her head.

"Never had any," she said.

Alex fought the urge to hunt down everyone who was in that crowd. They'd come after a girl who'd already lost everything.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" Moira asked.

The girl bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry.

"Can I go with you?" she asked.

Moira blinked, but her face softened at once.

"Of course," she said.

The girl let go of the wall and threw herself into Moira's arms. Moira rocked back on her heel, shocked. She managed to stay upright though, the child clutching the front of her shirt tightly. Moira returned the hug hesitantly. Her eyes turned to Alex, shocked.

Alex wasn't shocked though. He understood the feeling all too well. To a lesser extent he'd felt the same thing with the Professor. Moira was the first person who's stood up for her in God only knows how long. She would trust her. He'd have to explain this to Moira later.

Moira looked back at the girl in her arms. She wrapped her arms more securely around the girl.

"It's okay," she said.

She kissed the top of the girl's head.

"What's you're name?" she asked.

For a moment there wasn't a noise. Alex wondered if the girl hadn't heard, of if she didn't have a name. He really would hunt them down if the latter was the case.

"Rahne," the girl whispered.

"That's a beautiful name," Moira said.

A swooshing sound filled the air. Rahne gripped Moira tighter, but Alex recognized the sound of those engines. A few minutes later Sean ran around the corner, his jumpsuit rumpled and his eyes panicked.

He calmed down upon seeing the two of them.

"Oh, okay," he said, "Everything's alright?"

"Not exactly," Alex said.

He inclined his head towards Rahne. Sean's eyes widened slightly, but he kept silent. Now wasn't the time for questions.

"We're going to need to get a room ready," Alex said.

He frowned.

"How'd you get here so fast anyway?" he asked.

"We were in the hanger working on one of Hank's improvements when Scott called," Sean said, "We were out of there in five minutes-"

"Scott called?" Alex asked.

Sean frowned now, looking uncertain.

"Didn't you tell him to? he asked.

Alex could feel his heart sinking. It had been the smart thing to do, of course it had, but there were other implications. Scott had left the store, had used the payphones somehow. He wasn't listening to him like he'd used to. If he had, then he would've stayed put. When had he stopped listening to him?

Maybe it had been when he'd found out that Alex had started keeping secrets.


	19. Chapter 19

Scott stared at his brother, his arms folded tightly across his chest. Alex buckled himself into the plane seat: they had decided to come back for the car on another trip. Scott wasn't sure what that would mean, but he didn't think that it was very important.

They'd found him easily enough. His brother hadn't said a word to him as they'd gotten onto the plane. Scott had been shocked at the sight of the young girl clinging to Moira, but Moira had just shaken her head at his curious look. He knew that meant he couldn't ask. Not until later anyway.

He'd looked at his brother. All of the fear and uncertainty he'd felt about his brother had come to a head, crystalizing in anger. How could Alex not have told him? How could Alex be doing this to him?

Scott had sat down next to his brother, but Alex still hadn't said anything. He wanted his brother to talk to him. He wanted him to apologize, to tell him that he wasn't going to go out anymore and get hurt. Scott wanted to yell at his brother for leaving him, for almost losing him.

Instead there was only silence. Alex refused to look at him, which only made Scott stare harder.

"I'm not sorry," Alex said at last.

Scott withdrew, feeling the hurt welling up inside him.

"You left me," Scott said.

"You needed to be somewhere safe," Alex said, still not looking at him, "And if that meant leaving you at the only place that looked relatively safe to figure out what was going on, then so be it."

"But-"

"It's not like you listened," Alex said, "You left the store to use a payphone."

Scott drew himself up. He could feel tears threatening, but he wasn't going to cry in front of Alex. Not when he hadn't done anything wrong.

"You needed help," Scott said.

"Maybe," Alex said.

For the first time in their conversation Alex turned and looked at Scott.

"I'm guessing now is the part where you want to know exactly what the jumpsuits are for?" he asked, "I don't think you know exactly what they're for. You wouldn't be so pissed if you did."

He didn't sound angry anymore, just tired. Scott nodded.

"We're kind of like...I don't know what to call it," Alex said, "But Moira called us X-men once, and I think that works. We go around trying to stop bad guys from making mutants look bad, and sometimes we have to rescue other mutants."

"Bad guys?" Scott asked.

"Yeah," Alex said.

It really did sound like a comic book now. This wasn't a comic book though. This was real life. Scott's father had told him once that he shouldn't watch too many cartoons, because in real life people got hurt if they did things like that.

Alex was going to get hurt.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Scott said.

"Scott, I didn't want you to find out what I did for a reason," Alex said.

"Because you're gonna get hurt?" Scott asked.

"Because you're young, and you worry," Alex said, "I know that what I'm doing isn't the safest thing, but I'm tough. I can take it."

Scott clenched his fists.

"Dad was tough," he said.

Alex stiffened.

"This isn't the same," Alex said.

"He was tough and strong and he fought for other people," Scott said, "But he's gone."

"Our dad died in a plane crash," Alex said, "It had nothing to do with-"

"But he's gone!" Scott said.

"And I'm here," Alex said.

"For how much longer if you do stupid stuff?" Scott asked.

Alex ran a hand through his hair. When he spoke again, his voice sounded desperate.

"Scott, I'm doing the right thing. I need you to understand that. Dad always taught us that we can't just stand by and do nothing when people need our help," he said, "Do you remember that?"

There was nothing else to do but nod. Scott remembered, as a child, looking at his father's military decorations. He'd never been allowed to touch them, but he'd seen them enough. His father spoke of a war in Europe sometimes, even though the stories were blurry in Scott's memory. He'd talked about the nobility of their cause, about the strength in people to overcome great odds.

"That's what this is. There are people out there that need me," Alex said, "Today that little girl needed me. Tomorrow it'll be someone else. Sean and Hank need me too. I have their backs."

"What about me?" Scott asked.

The tears spilt out behind his sunglasses. Scott hated crying, and he hated how much he did.

"Don't I need you?" Scott said.

Alex's expression became pained.

"You need me just as much as I need you," Alex said, "Which is a shit ton."

Scott reached out and grabbed his brother's forearm.

"You can't just leave me," he begged, "I can't be alone again."

"Scott-" Alex said.

"You're all I have!" Scott said.

"And you're all I have," Alex said, "That's why I need you to be safe. I need you to stay in a safe place if there's danger. I can't lose you again Scott!"

Scott tightened his grip on Alex's forearm.

"I can't lose you either," he said.

His brother closed his eyes. A moment later he pulled Scott into a hug. Even before he spoke Scott knew that Alex wasn't going to stop being an X-men. He couldn't have convinced him to change his mind so quickly.

He also knew that Alex wasn't going to leave him. Not when he knew how much Scott needed him.

"I will never leave you," Alex said.

Scott couldn't help but smile as his thoughts were confirmed.

"You are never going to be alone."

* * *

The ride back to the Institute was a silent one, except for the private conversation that Alex and Scott held up at the front. Snatches of their conversation sometimes floated back towards her, they tended to raise their voices, but she tried not to listen. After a while there was only silence, and she assumed that the brothers had worked things out.

The only one making any noise at all after that point was Rahne. She'd refused to be taken out of Moira's arms, her filthy hands clutching to the front of Moira's shirt and jacket. Whenever someone suggested letting go her eyes widened with fear.

Moira didn't have the heart to push her away. Not when she trusted her so much. It was why Rahne sat on her lap on the way to the Institute. The child was exhausted, but she refused to fall asleep. The plane frightened her, and Moira supposed that it was her first time flying.

She had questions. Of course she did. How did this child with no parents end up running from a mob? She had the feeling that Rahne might not be the one to ask about that though. She was too young, too frightened.

Sean took over the controls while Hank came in the back. Rahne had stared at him, her mouth open slightly, as he asked her where it hurt the most. Nothing was broken, but there were a few lacerations that Hank had to clean. He told her to take it easy before moving back to the front of the plane.

"I like him," Rahne whispered.

Hank paused when she spoke. Her words were simple, that of a child who was seeing someone like her for the first time. Although Moira wasn't sure, she had the feeling that most children didn't have that reaction to him. Rahne had no idea what impact such words had on someone who hid himself away for fear of what people would think or say.

He opened his mouth slightly, but didn't say anything. He'd been such a timid teen, and he'd grown into a timid man. Moira wasn't sure what they could do about that. Whatever ideas she had about it she had the feeling that Charles had already had them.

Charles. She swallowed at his name. She'd nearly died and, despite her brisk attitude towards it, something like that wasn't so easily forgotten. She'd had a dozen regrets, but only a few of them were changeable.

She sighed in frustration. When had everything become so complicated? She wished that she could have just told him how hurt she'd been without shutting down the possibility of further discussion. Moira hadn't planned on staying at the Institute either, but she'd seen a chance and taken it. She hadn't thought about the repercussions on her heart until much later.

By the time they got to the Institute Rahne's eyes were drooping. She yawned but sat up, alert, when they landed. Moira stroked her hair reassuringly, trying to be as calm and soothing as possible. It worked during the car ride to the Institute, and even as they went up into the dormitories.

It fell apart when Moira tried to tuck Rahne in and leave. She'd hoped that the girl could get some rest and she could get some time alone with her thoughts. Instead Rahne let out a small cry and clung onto Moira's hand.

Moira sighed and pulled up a chair.

"Stay?" Rahne asked.

The sound of her voice broke Moira's heart all over again. How could she be so selfish as to want to leave?

"Of course," Moira said.

Rahne nodded before letting go of her hand. She looked fearfully around her before burrowing underneath the covers into a small cocoon. Moira blinked in surprise, but she had no idea what this girl had been through. She just wanted to be warm.

Moira leaned back as the minutes ticked by. She could feel exhaustion steeling upon her, almost as though she'd been the one who'd been running. When Rahne got up she'd have to get her some food: Moira had been able to feel the bumps in Rahne's spine through her thin dress. She'd have to find her some good, warm clothes, some socks and shoes.

The door opened. Moira was gloomily unsurprised when Charles wheeled into the room.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Sleeping," Moira said.

There was a small pause. Moira saw Charles lace his fingers together.

"I heard that you were very brave today," he said.

She laughed softly, mindful not to wake Rahne up.

"Brave? No. I did what anyone should do when they see a child in need," Moira said, "Alex was the one who tackled that monster."

"The monster who nearly shot you," Charles said.

She raised her eyebrows.

"Alex is making some pretty detailed reports," she said.

"He knows that I'd want to know," Charles said.

He bowed his head.

"This wasn't the life I wanted for you," he said.

She sighed, letting all of her frustration out in that one breath.

"I wish you'd stop saying that," Moira said, "The life I want is my choice."

"I know, I know," Charles said, "I just..."

He shook his head.

"I just ruined everything," he said.

She turned her head, feeling her heart beat a little faster.

"I am sorry," he said, "I know you're sick of me saying that, but I'm sorry. I'm going to keep saying it until you forgive me."

"Why?" Moira asked.

Charles looked up, a wan smile on his lips.

"You know why," he said.

Moira swallowed.

"My words may not be welcome," he said, "But I am going to try to make this right between us. I have no right to ask for a second chance but...if you were to give me one, if you were to trust me, I'd never hurt you like that again."

He looked up and Moira felt tears gathering in her eyes. It would be wrong to say that she wasn't scared. She was terrified, terrified of being hurt again. However, there were only so many second chances you could get.

Fighting against her better judgment, her hand reached out and touched his cheek. He looked up hopefully as she said words that, although true, she hadn't wanted to acknowledge.

"I trust you," she said.


	20. Chapter 20

"Psst!"

Scott looked over. Ororo poked him with her pencil for good measure. Scott winced and glanced over the study hall. Mr. Guthrie was still out, but he knew he could come back at any minute. He didn't know what Ororo was playing at.

He looked away from her, determined to get back to studying. She poked him again.

"Psst!"

She poked him with the sharpened end of her pencil. Scott barely stifled a cry and turned around, glaring at her. She looked smug.

"What?" he said.

"Wanna go out and play after this?" she asked.

"You could've asked me that after study hall," he whispered.

"I need something to look forward to. This is boo-ring."

"You always say that," Scott said.

"Because it's true!"

"Ororo-"

The door began to open. Scott whipped back to his book as Mr. Guthrie came to the front of the classroom. He saw him pull out his watch.

"Alright ya'll, study hall's over," he said, "And ya'll better not've left anythin in mah desk."

Scott shook his head before packing up his notebooks. Ororo tossed everything in her backpack and waited impatiently for him.

"You're so slow," she said.

"I don't wanna mess anything up," Scott said.

He shouldered his backpack.

"I'll race you," Ororo said.

Without waiting for an answer Ororo took off down the hall. Scott blew out a frustrated breath before following her. He knew better than to call after her and ask that she start the race over again. Scott dodged several of the older students and nearly bumped into a few of them. He heard a few call out names after him as he raced through the halls.

He could just make out Ororo's white hair ahead of him. Scott sped up until he drew level with her. She stuck her tongue out at him before speeding up herself. Her boundless reserves of energy always astounded him. She told him that she'd lived her life running, and Scott could believe it.

She burst out onto the lawn before him and threw down her backpack. Ororo raised her hands to the sky and twirled around once.

"I win!" she said.

"This time," Scott said, taking off his backpack.

"And the time before that," she said.

"You're only winning because you're tricking me," Scott said.

"You gotta be tricky if you want to win," Ororo said, "But just so you stop complaining about it, how about you pick the game?"

Scott chewed his tongue thoughtfully. Hide and seek was pretty fun, but he was starting to feel that he was a little old for it. He liked tag, but there weren't enough of them for that to be any fun. A few other ideas rose to his head, but he tossed them out. Ororo crossed her arms, impatience flickering across her face.

"Get right the hell back here!"

He turned in time to see Lorna run around the corner of the Institute, carrying something that looked a lot like his brother's jacket. Lorna didn't seem to see them. He figured that the trees were mostly blocking them. She ran to the nearest tree and hoisted herself up in one movement. Scott had wondered how she managed to do things like that, but Alex told her that she had gymnastic lessons before her mother died.

Alex ran to the bottom of the tree, streaked in grease and panting.

"Wow, looks like your family just can't run as fast as girls," Ororo said.

Scott glared at her.

"Give it back Lorna," Alex yelled.

"Nope," Lorna said, "Not until you say sorry for swapping my book covers. I took my chemistry book to history! Fat lot of good it did me."

"For the last time, I didn't do it," Alex said.

"Why don't I believe you?" Lorna asked.

There was a moment when the two of them glared at each other. Then Alex sighed in frustration and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Louder," Lorna said.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled, "Now give it back!"

Lorna casually dropped the jacket onto Alex's head.

"What the hell?" he said.

"That's for touching my stuff," Lorna said, swinging down from the tree, "Be glad that I didn't kick you in the face. I was tempted."

Alex pulled the jacket off his head.

"It was just to get you back for filling my shoes with shaving cream," Alex said.

Lorna snorted and put her hands on her hips.

"Alex, shoes are one thing," she said, "But if you touch my school stuff, I'll do a lot worse to you than steal your jacket. Next time you can say goodbye to all of your zippers."

"I don't see why it's so important," Alex said.

Lorna glared at him.

"It's off limits," she said, "I'd like to have a shot at getting decent grades."

"Fine, fine," Alex muttered.

He looked behind him, noticing them for the first time.

"And now I'm humiliated in front of my brother," he said.

"And me!" Ororo said, waving.

Lorna laughed.

"You had it coming," she said, "What are you two doing out here anyway?"

"We were gonna play something, but Scott can't make up his mind," Ororo said.

"I can!" Scott said, "I just wanted to play tag, but there's only two of us."

"Four now," Alex said.

He waved a hand at Lorna.

"Unless she's still pissed at me," he said.

"Alex, language."

Moira walked around the corner. Rahne was tightly clutching onto her hand. Upon seeing them she stepped behind Moira, her eyes getting bigger by the second. When her eyes met Scott's she ducked behind Moira's leg entirely.

"I didn't know you were there," he said.

"That's no excuse for having bad habits," Moira said.

She glanced at Lorna, who tossed her hair.

"What are you all doing out here?" Moira asked.

"We were just talking about that," Alex said, "We were going to play tag."

Moira looked at them thoughtfully.

"Is there room for two more?" she asked.

"Ask Scotty boy," Alex said.

Scott nodded. His eyes drifted to Rahne, who looked up at Moira with her scared eyes.

"It's just a game Rahne," Moira said gently, "It'll be alright. I'll play it with you."

Rahne nodded. Scott's eyes met Ororo's. He knew that she'd seen the frightened girl around the Institute before, always holding hands with Moira. Ororo knew enough to take it easy on the small girl. The last thing they needed was her getting hurt.

"I'll be it!" Scott said.

He closed his eyes.

"I'm gonna count to ten!" he said, "One, two, three, four, fivesixseveneightnineten!"

He opened his eyes. He could just see Lorna's retreating figure, and he ran after her. At times like this he was glad that Hank had made him the goggles. They clasped tightly enough around his head to be secure, but not tightly enough to be uncomfortable. He would have never run with his sunglasses. He'd be too afraid that they'd slip off.

Lorna saw him and laughed. She had a nice laugh. Scott heard it often, because it always seemed like she was laughing around Alex. There was something about her that reminded Scott of his brother, but she was much airier. It was like all she wanted out of life was to laugh.

Alex didn't laugh often. Scott didn't like that thought, but he never really laughed. He would chuckle or snort, but he didn't really laugh. Scott wondered if he was aware of the fact that he only laughed rarely.

Recently though, the laughter had increased. It had died a little more after Rahne had come to the Institute, but in the following weeks it had returned. Scott knew it was a strange thing to keep track of, but he couldn't help it. It was just the kind of thing that brothers looked for in each other.

Everyone seemed happier lately. Moira and the Professor weren't weird around each other any more. When he'd mentioned it to Ororo, she'd shaken her head and said "Kissy kissy." He'd repeated it to Alex later, and he'd gotten one of his brother's rare, full laughs. He supposed that meant that she was right.

He lunged forwards and managed to tag Lorna's ankle. Scott slid on the grass and Lorna nearly stumbled. She looked back at Scott and shook her head.

"You got way too into that," she said.

"So?" Scott said, getting up, "You're it now."

She rolled her eyes before grinning. Lorna took off towards the other side of the field. Alex, Moira, Ororo, and Rahne were there. Ororo saw Lorna coming and took off in the opposite direction. Lorna headed towards Moira and Rahne. He saw Moira turn around to avoid her at the last moment, Rahne running next to her. Some of the fear had melted off of Rahne's face, and he thought that the girl was enjoying herself.

Lorna sidestepped her and lunged for Alex. He went to dodge her, but she tackled him to the ground. Scott ran to the group, grinning.

"And you said I got too into it," Scott said.

Lorna tossed her head back and began to get up. She rubbed the back of her neck.

"We should definitely enforce a no tackling rule," Alex mumbled.

"Oh my God."

Everyone stared at Lorna. Her hands were circling her throat searchingly. She dropped down to the grass and began combing her fingers through it.

"Oh my God, oh my God, ohmyGod," Lorna whispered, her voice becoming frantic.

Moira frowned, and then her eyes widened. She immediately dropped to the ground with her.

"Did you lose it?" she asked.

"Yes," Lorna moaned, miserable.

Moira's head whipped in Alex's direction.

"Lorna's lost her necklace," she said, "It's a rose pendant on a silver chain. Help!"

"It's metal, isn't it?" Alex asked, "Can't you just-?"

"It's made from aluminum!" Lorna hissed, "It's not magnetic!"

Alex immediately began combing the field. Scott did too. He could see that Lorna's movements were becoming more and more panicked. Moira looked concerned as well, but he still didn't understand. It was just a necklace.

Ororo came over, and they explained the situation. She began looking with them, but they'd been running all over the field. It could have dropped anywhere. Scott didn't think that they were going to find it.

He was going to tell Lorna that, but then he saw the tears in her eyes. Alex was looking at her with concern, as was Moira. Scott went to ask his brother why it was so important, but Alex just shook his head and got back to looking. He didn't know either.

"Miss?"

Lorna looked up. Rahne timidly reached for her hand and took a long sniff. Lorna stared at her for a moment and then Rahne started walking around the field. She was sniffing deeply, and Scott saw her eyes flash amber a few times.

After a minute she dropped to the ground. She picked up the small necklace and offered it to Lorna. Lorna ran over and hugged Rahne. Rahne squeaked. Scott wasn't sure if the noise was in surprise or fear, but Lorna let go of her.

"Thank you so much," she said.

Lorna took a shuddering breath before putting it into her pocket. She saw them looking at her and let her hand rest on her pocket.

"It was my mom's," she said.

Alex gave her a cocky smile.

"Well, no harm done," he said, "Rahne's quite the tracker."

Rahne smiled shyly. Alex cocked his head at Lorna, and Scott could see something spark there. Then he reached out and tagged her.

"You're it!" he yelled.

He took off running and Lorna chased after him.

"Get back here!" she said.

Moira laughed and took Rahne's hand. Ororo nudged Scott on the shoulder and pointed to Lorna and Alex.

"Kissy kissy," she said.

"Don't be dumb," Scott said.


	21. Chapter 21

"Dammit!"

Alex turned around and sent out another blast from his chest, but he could feel himself weakening. He'd never fought this long or hard before, and it was starting to wear on him. His throat was scratchy, and he made a mental note to tell Hank to include a little pocket for a water bottle if he ever redesigned the uniforms.

"Havok, this way," Hank said.

He gestured with one of his arms. The other was keeping Sean in place. He'd been able to get a few good screams off before Mystique had hit him over the head. He hoped that Sean wasn't concussed, but either way he was unconscious and they didn't have time to revive him.

Once again they'd been able to get to vital information only seconds before the Brotherhood. There was just too much data being collected in unsecure servers by the CIA. It was like they were begging someone to steal it. He'd almost thought it was a trap, and he'd mentioned it to Moira. She'd just sighed and mumbled something about having a stupid boss.

Either way, the Brotherhood had been just a little bit too late. He'd felt smug about that, only to realize that, even though they'd destroyed the database, the Brotherhood were right there and very unhappy. Sean had screamed, Alex had sent a few energy blasts their way, and they'd run for their lives.

He wasn't sure just how deep they'd gotten into the compound before the Brotherhood had caught up to them. That was when Sean had gotten injured, and they'd managed to flee again. Every so often he had to blindly set out a blast behind him, hoping that it slowed someone down. They didn't have too much time for more.

His eyes flickered to the roof. It wasn't too far away from them, and it did look like it was a little weak. He did some quick calculations.

"Beast, run faster," Alex said, "I'll be there in a sec."

Hank didn't bother to ask him what he was doing. He sped up and Alex blasted the roof. He saw chunks of plaster and wood fall down in front of Mystique and Angel. He knew Magneto was with them, just a few steps behind. There wasn't too much metal in the debris though, so he figured it was okay. There had also been some new faces with them, but Alex didn't want to think too much about that.

He turned and drew level with Hank.

"I've bought us a coupla minutes," Alex said.

"Let's not waste them," Hank said.

Up ahead Alex could see the door that they came in through. He breathed a sigh of relief and they pushed through it. The Blackbird was nearby, and they should be able to be far enough away to the point where Magneto couldn't get to them. They'd be safe once Hank got in and pushed the throttles.

He smiled grimly to himself. Once he got back the first thing he was doing was taking a shower, and not just because it would feel amazing. He'd taken great pains to make sure that Scott never saw him directly after he got back from a mission. He was always covered in grime and, more times than not, dried blood. Alex's brother worried enough without having to see the mess that Alex was often in after missions.

It still irked him that he'd had to tell Scott about the X-men. It was a secret that Alex had vowed to take to the grave with him, but Scott was sharper than he'd expected. He also thought that it might be due to his own occasional idiocy and penchant for getting weird injuries. Alex decided to leave that thought where it was for a while.

Scott always piled him with questions when he got an injury, and it made Alex feel uneasy. Still, he knew that he could do this. He'd meant it when he said that he would never be able to sit back and do nothing. They'd been raised that way, and raised well.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see the cloud of black smoke that appeared to his left. The next thing he knew Hank roared and shoved Alex to the ground. Alex looked up in time to see Hank block one of Azazel's knives with his forearm.

Blood spurted across the ground. Alex got up and set off a blast from his chest plate. There was a flash of black smoke and he whirled around, unsure of where Azazel was. There was another noise, like a soft explosion, and Alex turned again.

He sent off another blast, and he smelt burnt hair. He'd nicked him.

"Beast, get Banshee somewhere safe," Alex said.

"And leave you?" Hank asked, "Don't be stupid. You can't take him alone."

Alex wasn't sure that they could take him together. Usually Azazel came towards the end of the mission, when the Brotherhood was already withdrawing. He was the grand finale of a tough fight, a way for the Brotherhood to exit gracefully. They'd rarely encountered him when he was in full combative mode, and when they had there had been three of them to settle things and make sure that they could get away.

Now there were only two of them. They had, of course, trained in case they'd have to fight the teleporter, but training was one thing. This was completely different. Alex's eyes flickered back to the compound: Azazel must be buying the rest of the Brotherhood time to get to them. Alex didn't like the thought of being outnumbered in the open.

They needed to get out of there. The only real advantage they had to the Brotherhood's numbers was speed. Alex looked at the Blackbird. The last time it had felt this far away had been Cuba, and that was only because it had been a complete wreck then. Now they had to outrun Azazel and get to a decent distance before Magneto stopped them.

Why did they have to fly around in a great big chunk of metal? Alex hoped that Hank was at least working on the possibility of a plastic plane. It was certainly something that they would have to look into.

He saw the black cloud inches away from him and sent out another blast. Alex leaned back so he was back to back with Hank. Sean's legs dangled over Hank's back and knocked gently against Alex's arm as they turned to look around.

Hank growled and swiped. Alex ducked underneath his arm and kicked Azazel in the chest. He staggered back and Alex leapt at him, tackling him and shoving him into the ground. They needed to disorient him, just like they'd trained for.

Azazel teleported the two of them and Alex stumbled, disoriented. He fell to the ground as one of Azazel's swords bit into his forehead. It was deep, and Alex couldn't help but cry out. Blood ran into his eye, but he could still see enough to dodge the second swipe of Azazel's swords. This one nicked his forehead across the same spot, and more blood blurred his vision.

He kicked out, tripping him. Azazel teleported again, and he saw him go after Hank. Hank swiped with his claws, but Azazel kicked him in the chest. Hank dropped Sean. His friend landed in the mud, groaning slightly as he did so.

Hank grabbed onto Azazel's arm, and black smoke enveloped them. Alex scrambled to his feet and saw the two of them teleport some distance away. Azazel wriggled out of Hank's grasp and teleported again. Alex was ready for him and knocked him down.

Alex punched and dodged as much as he could. He could feel Azazel weakening under the assault, but he wouldn't stay down. Frustration mounted in him as he looked at the compound. They didn't have much time.

He lashed out Azazel, who stumbled. Azazel's eyes slid over to Sean, and suddenly Alex knew what it was he was seeing. Sean was unconscious on the ground, his mouth open slightly. Hank was far away, trying to catch up with them.

"No," Alex said, his voice harsh, "Don't-"

Azazel teleported. Alex sent out a blast above Sean's head, already running towards him. Azazel was burned the moment he appeared, but it just made him stagger. He didn't go down. Alex continued running towards him.

_Stop! Target me, target me!_ Alex thought, _Stop, don't, don't, you can't-_

Azazel raised his sword again and Alex sent out another blast. This blast only managed to singe Azazel, and he teleported to Sean's other side. Alex doubled his speed. He was almost there. Just a few more steps, and he'd be able to push Azazel out of the way.

Even as he drew closer, Azazel seemed to ignore him, focusing instead on Sean. He drew back his knife.

_Don't do it, don't, don't touch him, don't_, Alex thought, feeling frantic,_ Let him go. Look at me! Target me!_

He sent out another blast, but this one was clumsy. He could see Azazel laugh at it.

_Don't touch him you sonuvabitch!_

Alex threw himself at Azazel's sword arm. He could see surprise on his face, but Azazel snarled. Alex snarled right back. He wasn't going to let him hurt Sean. No matter what, his friend was going to be safe.

Azazel threw him off. Alex stumbled but pushed forwards. He grabbed Azazel's sword hand again. The tip of the metal pressed against the zipped-up collar of his uniform. In the back he could hear Hank roar, but he was still too far away. He weaseled his fingers underneath the sword, counting on his thick gloves to protect his hand. He watched for Azazel's other sword, watched for the moment it would come around and he would have to defend himself.

The sword came around. Alex brought up his free leg to block it. Azazel snarled again and redirected the blade. Alex watched, a cold dread growing within him as Azazel geared his knife towards the only other target in sight: Sean.

"No!" Alex shouted.

Thoughts flashed through his mind in quick succession. Hank was still too far away to help. Alex wanted to blast Azazel, but at close range he might only succeed at blowing all three of them up. His control wasn't good enough for a blast that was specialized enough yet. His powers were out of the question.

There was no way for him to knock the sword out of Azazel's hand. He'd just barely been able to dodge it. Both of his hands were occupied with making sure that Azazel's blade wouldn't cut his throat. he couldn't kick far enough to knock Azazel's knife out of his hand. Hitting his legs might make him stumble, but it wouldn't do enough good.

Another option stole across his mind. The blade Azazel was pressing to Alex's throat was on level with his own. If Alex could muster enough strength then he could push it forwards and cut Azazel's jugular.

The idea horrified him. He wasn't a killer. He'd been an X-man for over three years, and he'd never killed anyone. Sure, he'd hurt people, but he'd never killed anyone. He'd never plotted out a way to kill someone.

Azazel's blade continued to move towards Sean's exposed back. Thoughts flickered through Alex's mind, thoughts of his friend, Hank, his brother, his father, the Professor, Moira. What would they have him do? He didn't have it in him to kill Azazel. He couldn't let Sean die.

An ugly thought rose to the front of his mind.

_Whose blood do you want on your hands? Azazel's, or Sean's?_

Screaming wordlessly, Alex pushed himself forwards. He saw Azazel's eyes widen before the blade went home. Blood spurted over Alex's face, hot and bitter. It soaked his shirt as he continued to push further inwards and Azazel went down.

Azazel let go and fell to the ground. Alex stood over him, the blood dripping from his fingertips and face as Azazel twitched before lying still.

"Why wouldn't you let him go!" Alex screamed.

He stood, panting. His thoughts were a confused jumble. A hand touched his shoulder and he whipped around. Hank was standing there, Sean over his shoulder and his eyes wide. Alex stared at him, pleading with him to understand.

"Alex," Hank said, "We need to get back."

Alex swallowed, his throat feeling like sandpaper. He followed Hank back to the Blackbird and sat down, the blood cooling on his face. No one spoke.


	22. Chapter 22

Scott knew something was wrong when his brother didn't come down to dinner. He always came down to dinner, unless he was working on a car. When he did that Scott would bring a plate down to him and they'd eat in the garage.

Alex always told Scott when that was going to happen though. He frowned and looked down at his plate. After a moment he looked around the table, still searching for his brother. He saw Lorna, hoping that Alex would come in after her like he did sometimes. He didn't.

Scott sat down next to Ororo, feeling his heart sinking. She frowned.

"Somethin wrong?" Ororo asked.

"No," Scott said.

He swung his legs and dining room again. Alex wasn't there, and his friends weren't either. His heart sank further. Were they out on another one of their missions? Was his brother in trouble, his friends unable to take him home?

The food stuck in his throat. He only picked at the rest, forcing himself to make conversation with Ororo. She looked irritated and concerned, but she didn't know what was going on with the X-men, and he wasn't allowed to tell her.

When he finished he headed up towards Hank's lab. He felt anxious, scared of what he would or wouldn't find, but he had to find out what was going on. If they were there then they'd know what had happened.

Even before he fully reached the lab he heard their whispering. They must have left the door open. They often did. The students tended to avoid Hank's lab. There had been one too many unexplained explosions.

"-he said what?" he heard Sean murmur.

"What else would he say?" Hank answered.

"This is my fault. I shouldn't have-"

"What, gotten knocked out?" Hank said, "No, there was nothing you could've done."

Scott rounded the corner and the whispering stopped. His brother's friends stopped and stared at him.

"Where's Alex?" he asked.

They glanced at each other. Scott clenched his fists.

"Where's my brother?" he asked, "He wasn't at dinner. Is he okay?"

"Yeah," Hank answered, his voice faint, "Yeah, he's um, he's not injured."

Although Hank couldn't see it behind Scott's goggles, Scott narrowed his eyes.

"That's not the same as being okay," Scott said, "Is he okay?"

Hank wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Is he okay?" Scott repeated.

Sean and Hank looked at each other again. Scott was beginning to hate that.

"Where is he?" Scott demanded.

"Look-" Sean began.

"Where is he?" Scott said, scowling.

Sean took a step back before looking away guiltily.

"He's in his room," he said.

"Thanks," Scott snapped.

He turned around.

"You shouldn't go there," Hank said, his voice pleading, "The Professor's in there with him right now. Scott...he's...he wouldn't-"

"Wouldn't what?" Scott said.

Hank sighed.

"He wouldn't want you to see him right now," Hank said.

Scott just shook his head. He glared at the two of them.

"Maybe not," he said, "I dunno what happened. But don't you two lie to me."

"We didn't-" Sean began.

"Not telling me is the same thing!" Scott said.

His fear for his brother made him strong, made him draw himself up like he was older than eleven.

"I don't like what he does," Scott said, "It scares me. But I'm not gonna pretend it doesn't go on. You two are just his friends. I'm his brother, okay? If you get to know, then I get to know."

Without waiting for an answer Scott hurried away. He knew he'd been rude, but Hank's refusal to answer his question had kindled something deep inside him. He needed to see his brother, one way or another.

* * *

Alex stared duly in front of him. He could hear the Professor sigh to his left.

"Alex, talk to me."

Alex turned his head towards him. They'd been sitting together in his room, in complete silence, for over an hour.

"There's nothing to say," Alex said.

He looked down at his hands. They'd been scrubbed raw, as had the rest of him. He'd tossed away his uniform as soon as possible. He could still remember Azazel's blood coating his skin, metallic and bitter. Just the thought of it made him want to scream.

"I killed him. That's all," Alex said.

"You protected your friend," the Professor said, "There's nothing to be ashamed of Alex."

"You don't understand," Alex said.

Despite his desire not to say anything, Alex could feel words forcing their way to his tongue.

"I chose to kill him," he said, "There was a choice. I could either keep my hands clean and let Sean die or cut open Azazel's throat. And I cut him open and...Professor..."

He let out a hollow laugh.

"They told me in anatomy class how much blood we have, but I didn't really believe them," Alex said, "And then it all came out..."

He struggled to keep his breathing even.

"Professor..."

A hand touched his shoulder. Alex looked open and saw the Professor staring at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Alex," he said, "I would have given anything to spare you this, to keep you from having to..."

He swallowed.

"You've been able to avoid killing for many years," the Professor said, "Not many could have done the same."

"I couldn't avoid it forever, is that what you're saying?" Alex asked.

"Perhaps not," the Professor said.

He looked up and met Alex's eyes.

"Alex, we've chosen to resist what Erik's doing. We've chosen to protect those that might fear us," the Professor said, "And the people we're fighting don't want to come quietly, and they don't want to go down without a fight. Some of their methods are violent and try as we might..."

The Professor let his hand drop from Alex's shoulder. He glared at his wheelchair.

"I'm sorry that you have to fight this battle for me," he said.

"Professor," Alex said.

The Professor looked back up at him, and Alex struggled to articulate his feelings.

"You haven't left us," Alex said, "You're here now."

The Professor just smiled sadly.

"Alex, you've been brave for such a long time," he said, "But...if you don't wish to continue-"

"I have to," Alex said.

He took a shuddering breath. Images of the blood on his hands kept surfacing, and he fought them down. It was either that or be ill.

"I can't just do nothing. I'm helping people, helping mutants. I know that," Alex said, "My dad..."

Images of the blood were replaced by images of his father. Alex got into his father's war medals once before Scott was born. He hadn't just looked at them: he'd taken the case apart and touched them. He'd played with the pretty ribbons and shiny medals. His father hadn't been angry when he'd found them, but he'd asked Alex not to do it again.

Then Alex, with all the innocence and stupidity of a six-year-old, asked a question he still regretted.

"Dad, did you ever kill anyone?"

His father had stilled, a purple heart in his hand. His thumb swept over the ribbon before he put it back in its case.

"Yes," his father said.

It hadn't been his words that had stopped Alex as a child. It had been the tone he'd used. If Alex was older he would have stopped and looked away. He wasn't older though.

"Why?"

His father had turned to him, his expression pained. He hadn't given him an answer. His father had been despondent and sad, as though he was remembering some deep chasm of pain that he couldn't express, not without the understanding of the other person.

Alex understood now. He just couldn't talk to his father anymore.

"Alex?" the Professor asked.

He bit his lip. 

"Professor, I can't leave Sean and Hank to do this alone," he said, "Especially after today. I can't let anything happen to them Professor. That's worth killing for, even if it leaves me feeling like this."

He shook his head.

"I can't let anything harm them," Alex said, "Not...I can't."

He swallowed.

"And I don't want to die either," Alex said, "But...more than anything..."

His hands clenched into fists.

"I can't leave Scott alone," Alex said, "I keep telling him that I'm going to be okay when I go out there, but I know that there's a chance that I won't be. But I promised him I'd come back, and that means that I have to try everything that I can to get back to. I can't let other people live instead of me. Not when I've got him to come back to."

He clenched his fists.

"It's selfish, but I'm scared for him Professor, and I'm scared for me," Alex said, "Even if it makes me into some sort of monster. I can't...I can't leave him alone-"

"Alex."

Alex forced himself to meet the Professor's eyes.

"No matter what," the Professor said, "Scott has a place here. This is his home. If anything happens to you, then we will take care of him."

Although Alex had known that the Professor wouldn't cast Scott out, he couldn't help but feel relieved at his words. He forced himself to smile.

"I like to think of myself as a peaceful man, but I'm not a hypocrite. I trained you," the Professor said, "I put you out on that field, and I knew what that meant. I wish that I had warned you better, but for your sake I hope that this never gets too easy."

Alex nodded.

"You have killed, and you could very well have to kill again," the Professor said, "And you might watch Sean and Hank go through the same thing. Now that blood has been spilt, it is more of a surety. But that is why you have each other."

Alex nodded again, his throat swelling.

"I know your brother means everything to you," the Professor said, "And you will never be a monster in his eyes."

He squeezed his shoulder.

"Nor will you be in mine," the Professor said.

Tears fell from Alex's eyes and he bowed his head. There were so many tears inside him, and it seemed safe to cry. He thought of Azazel, a man he'd always thought of as evil, a man that he'd struggled to stop time and time again. Now he'd stopped him for good, but he'd destroyed a little part of himself in the process, something that he would never get back.

"Alex?"

Alex started. His brother's voice was followed by a flurry of knocks. He got up and stumbled. The Professor put out a hand to steady him.

"You don't have to go out right now," the Professor said.

"He's worried," Alex said.

He straightened. The incessant knocks continued.

"I can't let him be worried," Alex said, "He needs to know that everything's fine."

"Everything's not fine though," the Professor said.

"Alex?"

Alex cleared his throat.

"Geez Scott, give me a minute!" he called.

The knocks stopped and Alex gave the Professor a wan smile.

"One day you might need him to share your burdens with," the Professor said.

"He's only eleven," Alex said.

"He'll get older," the Professor said.

Alex didn't answer. Instead he walked up to the door and opened it. Scott immediately threw his arms around Alex's waist.

"Whoa, what's up Scotty boy?" Alex asked, putting his hands on his brother's shoulders.

Scott didn't answer, just held him closer. For a moment Alex closed his eyes. The blood splashed onto him again, and he saw himself with the knife to Azazel's throat. He knew it wasn't the last time, knew he would have to kill again. But if it made the world easier for Scott and others like him to live in, if it brought him back to his brother, then that was enough.

It would have to be.


	23. Chapter 23

"So, this is the main hall," Alex said, "Bannister's good for sliding, but don't tell the Professor that I told you that."

Warren looked around, his face unconvinced. He looked both nervous and derisive. While Alex was used to dealing with the first, he most certainly wasn't used to dealing with the second.

The Professor told him that Warren came from a rich family. It certainly looked like it. His luggage was of a good make, as were his clothes. The harness that he used to hide his wings was custom made. Not a lot of families could afford something like that.

"That's dangerous and stupid," Warren said, "And it's immature."

Alex fought the urge to tell the boy to stuff it. It was the millionth time that Warren had said something snide or dismissive since he'd started showing him the grounds. He had to repeat to himself that, while Warren was coming off as a little snot, he wasn't that much older than Scott. He was only twelve: he'd just lived a different life.

The Professor had told him that he suspected Warren's arrogance might be a reflection of his uncertainty about his mutation. It looked like his father had gone to great means to hide his wings. Alex hadn't even seen them yet, and the boy was in a school for mutants.

Still, Alex couldn't help but hate his attitude. There was too much that reminded him of the rather more unpleasant parts of his adolescent years. At one point he'd beaten up kids like Warren.

Alex sighed at the thought, an old hangover when he'd looked jealously at kids in new clothes at school and parents to come back to. He'd envied him, and they'd looked at him with disdain. He could still see that disdain in Warren's eyes.

That had been a long time ago, and he had to remind himself of that. He was two years into college, and well on his way to become a teacher. Teachers didn't punch their students, and they didn't insult them either.

It didn't mean that he couldn't give him a reality check.

"And that comment wasn't?" Alex said, raising his eyebrows.

Warren's face flushed.

"Come on," Alex said.

He turned and opened the door to the library. For the first time since the tour started the boy's eyes widened. He saw one of Warren's hands run along the spine of a particularly old volume. Alex smiled to himself. So the kid did have a heart.

"You're allowed to check out three books at once," he said, "But they have pretty strict due dates. Try hiding overdue books from a telepath. It's not fun."

Warren took his hand off the book's spine, but he didn't say anything. It was better than having him make yet another snide comment though.

"The kitchen and main dining hall's just around the corner," Alex said, "We do meals in shifts because there are more students now, but there should be a pretty decent time for you."

"I eat at five," Warren said.

It was back. Alex put his hands in his pockets.

"We'll try to get you into the 5:30," he said.

He didn't look behind him to see Warren's expression. He opened the door to the dining room. Warren walked up to it, but a small figure barreled him over. Warren cried out and Alex inwardly cursed. This was the last thing that he needed.

Alex turned and saw Rahne scramble to her feet, anxiously smoothing her sundress. She'd been at the Institute for about a year now, and the fact that she'd not screamed at Warren's unexpected presence was enough to make him smile. The fact that she didn't have to have Moira with her at all times anymore was certainly a plus.

Rahne still followed Moira around on most days, but she was able to be away from her sometimes. That was good, because once Moira and the Professor got back together they needed some sort of alone time. Moira was still the one who tucked Rahne in though.

Warren glared at her.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped.

The smile fell off of Alex's face as Rahne physically flinched. She stepped back and Warren looked at her, a frown on his face.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Alex saw Rahne's lower lip tremble as she took a step back. He stepped forwards just as Scott ran into the room, followed by Ororo. Rahne immediately ran behind them, peering from behind Scott's back.

"What did you do to Rahne?" Scott demanded.

Warren glared at him as he got to his feet. Alex stepped forward, feeling pride flitter through him despite the situation. All Scott had seen was Rahne's scared face, and he was trying to look out for her.

He couldn't let things get out of hand though.

"They just ran into each other-" he began.

"She ran into me," Warren said, "It's not my fault she's not paying attention to where she's going."

Rahne ducked her head even further.

"That's enough," Alex snapped.

"What?" Warren said.

"Please stop," Rahne whispered.

Alex took a deep breath. He needed to remember to keep his voice low. He knew that raised voices frightened her, and the escalating argument was bad. Moira told him that she thought that Rahne had suffered years of abuse before they'd found her. She said that she cried out sometimes in her sleep.

Scott glared at Warren, stepping in front of Rahne as if to protect her. Ororo coughed uncomfortably.

"I'm Ororo," she said, "Hi."

Although Alex appreciated Ororo's attempt to change the conversation, Warren didn't. He straightened his coat.

"I want to go to my room," he said.

"Sure," Alex said.

He put a hand on Scott's shoulder briefly before heading upstairs. Warren walked stiffly beside him when they got to his room.

"Is everyone going to be like that?" Warren asked.

Alex closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again.

"Depends," he said, "Let's see here, is everyone going to be protective of their friends like Scott was? Is everyone going to want to introduce themselves like Ororo?"

Warren blinked at him and opened his mouth. Alex wasn't going to let him say anything though.

"Or do you mean Rahne, that six-year-old who ran into you playing a game?" Alex said, "And by how she is, if you mean scared of her own shadow because she didn't have anyone to protect her when she was younger, then yeah, there are a few people here like that."

Warren stared openly now.

"I don't think you're a bad kid," Alex said, "I think that you're trying to establish some sort of authority here, but as someone who's tried doing that, it's better to go around and at least try to make friends. You might not know it, but the people here will understand you more than anyone ever has."

Warren continued staring as Alex walked away. He looked over his shoulder.

"By the way, you can come to dinner at 5:30," he said, "If you have any problems with anything, there's a comm at the end of the hall."

He looked straight ahead and walked down another hallway. Lorna came up the stairs, carrying a few of her books. She stopped when she saw him and something inside his stomach fluttered slightly.

"I heard Rahne ran into a little trouble today," Lorna said.

Alex shook his head. Lorna always seemed to find things out fast when it came to Moira and Rahne.

"She ran into a kid who doesn't know her," Alex said, "Nothing more."

Lorna nodded in understanding.

"Let me guess: attitude problem?" she asked.

"Hey, you might not be such a bad teacher yourself," he said.

She grinned.

"I have yet to declare a major," she said.

Lorna tilted her head back.

"However, there are a few things I wanted to talk to you about," she said.

"Yeah?" Alex said.

She tapped the spine of her book.

"The X-men," she said.

"Keep your voice down," Alex said.

He looked around him before walking into one of the guest rooms. He wasn't going to risk talking about the X-men in the open. Not after Scott had found out. They had all become much more careful after that.

Lorna followed him, twitching her hand and making the metal hinges swing inwards and the door close.

"What about it?" he asked.

Lorna shifted the books.

"How do you join?" she asked.

He stared at her.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't give me that," Lorna said, annoyed.

"I mean...what...why would you suddenly want-?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"Alex, I've been thinking about this since Moira brought Rahne back," she said, "I'm not trained or anything, but you know that I'm a quick learner."

Alex swallowed. He wasn't sure why the thought of Lorna in the X-men disturbed him so much, but he had the feeling it was linked to the feeling he had in his gut whenever he saw her.

"I might not be the one to talk to about that," he said, "The Professor's in charge."

"I know," Lorna said.

She swallowed.

"But I want to know that I have your support when I ask him," Lorna said.

He let his hands drop by his side.

"Why's that important?" he asked.

For the first time since meeting her Lorna's eyes wouldn't meet his.

"I've always been able to count on you," she said, "I don't want to have to stop."

"My opinion shouldn't count for much," Alex said, "It doesn't in the X-men-"

"Stop talking shit," Lorna said, her eyes meeting his, "You're pretty much the field leader if I remember correctly."

Now it was his turn to look away. There was that excuse gone.

"Lorna, what we do is kind of dangerous," he said.

"No shit," she said.

One of her hands went to the necklace and began playing with the pendant there.

"Alex, I'm tired of sitting things out, of watching with apathy while children like Rahne are hated and feared," she said, "I'm tired of being useless when people need me. Don't you understand that?"

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. He understood only too well.

"You're my friend," she said, "And I want you with me on this."

He sighed. He hated himself for what he was about to say, but he didn't see any way he could get around it without denying who he knew she was. It would be like Charles sending Moira away, not letting her choose a life she was capable of.

The comparison unnerved him slightly.

"You've got me," he said.

She laughed and hugged him. The sudden motion surprised him and she pulled away, leaving him no time to hug back.

"You're awesome," Lorna said.

She kissed his cheek before walking out of the room. Alex stared after her and touched his cheek. He could feel the skin tingling there. The fluttering in his stomach reached a fever pitch as he thought about her lips on his cheek.

He shook it off before glancing at his watch. It was 5:25, and his stomach's grumbling corroborated it. Alex opened the door and headed downstairs to dinner. He still felt a little dazed, and almost missed Warren walking past him. At the last minute he realized that Warren was walking over to Rahne, who was right next to Moira. Rahne shrank into Moira's side, and Scott and Ororo turned their attention to him, but Warren stayed firm.

"Sorry about earlier," he said, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Rahne held onto the edge of the table, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Forgive me?" he asked.

Rahne smiled shyly and nodded her head. Alex felt himself let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Maybe Warren wouldn't do too badly after all.


	24. Chapter 24

Scott stared at the chess board and scowled. He adjusted his goggles and looked across the board. Warren was grinning at him. Scott looked at his pieces once more before moving a pawn forward.

Warren moved his bishop so that it rested near Scott's king.

"Checkmate," he said.

Scott groaned and leaned back.

"I don't wanna play this anymore," he said.

"You asked," Warren said.

He began picking up the different pieces and putting them back in the box. Despite the disastrous first meeting, Scott found that he quite liked Warren. He was still a little difficult to get a long with sometimes, but he was trying. Alex told him to be patient with him, and he was trying.

After the initial meeting he'd seen Warren's wings for the first time. Warren liked not having to wear a harness, but his wing span was big so he couldn't keep them folded out at all times. Scott had bumped into them more than once, sending feathers flying.

Scott had the feeling that Warren was smarter than him, but he was also less studious. He'd passed him several caricatures of their teachers while they were supposed to be studying. He hated it when he did that, but the drawings were actually kind of funny.

Warren also liked reading, more than Ororo did. Scott glanced over at her. She was reading a book quietly. He was glad that it wasn't a book from class. He was getting a little tired of her teasing him about reading for fun. She was getting better, but he still preferred to talk to Warren about things like that.

Rahne was a seat over. She'd curled up into a ball next to the armrest, and her breaths were coming out low and soft. Both of her hands were wrapped around an old leather book that she'd been reading for hours before falling asleep.

At first Rahne had been wary of Warren, but she'd softened up when she'd seen his wings.

"Like a grouchy Angel," she'd said, her voice awed.

Scott had thought that Warren would get angry, but he'd smiled instead.

"I am a grouchy Angel, aren't I?" he'd asked.

Rahne shuffled in her sleep. She looked peaceful like that, but Scott knew that she hugged herself tightly like that defensively. He'd done the same on some of the darker nights in the orphanage.

"She conked out fast," Warren said.

"She's little," Scott said.

"You're not that much bigger," Warren grinned.

"Shut up," Scott said.

He was starting to worry about his height. He was eleven, going on twelve. He should be taller now. He swung his legs over the side of the chair.

"Hey, Ororo?" he asked.

"Mmmhm?" Ororo asked.

"Ororo," Scott repeated.

"Mmmm," she said.

"Ro?" Warren asked.

Ororo looked up, irritated.

"What?" she said.

"Do you think we should wake up Rahne?" Scott asked, "It's probably her bedtime."

Ororo gave him an incredulous look.

"You want me to wake her up so she can go to sleep?" she asked.

Scott rolled her eyes.

"You make me sound dumb," he said.

"You are dumb," Ororo said.

She looked over at Rahne.

"She looks comfy enough," she said.

Scott leaned back in his chair. He could see that he wasn't going to get any help from her.

"So, what are you guys doing over the summer?" Warren asked.

Ororo chewed her tongue thoughtfully.

"I might go visit my sister," Ororo said, "She's so old though, and my nephew is really annoying."

"He's can't be that bad," Scott said.

"He is," Ororo said, "He keeps climbing things. Evan never gives me a moment of peace. He's like a little brother. Little brothers are annoying."

Scott narrowed his eyes.

"Present company excluded?" Warren said.

"Whatever that means, yeah," Ororo said.

Scott let his eyes return to normal so he could roll them.

"And you?" Warren asked.

"Dunno," Scott said, "Probably just hang out around here."

Warren nodded, glancing at the chess board.

"I'm gonna miss you guys when I go home," he said.

"So you're going home for Summer?" Ororo asked.

"Yeah," Warren said, his voice bitter, "I am."

Scott frowned. Warren didn't often talk about his home life. Scott had imagined that it was decent, seeing how he was a mutant and had a home to go back to. He'd been sent to the Institute with his family's blessing and suitcases filled with nice clothes and expensive things.

A sense of unease crept over him.

"Is that okay?" Scott asked.

Warren looked up sharply.

"Whattya mean?" he asked.

"Just..." Scott said.

He struggled to find the right words.

"I just...I know it can be difficult to leave the Institute," he said, "I mean...I've got sunglasses for when I go out there, but I wish I had my goggles. But people would look at me funny."

He touched his goggles. He hadn't used his power in over a year. It was amazing.

"And I hate it when I have to wear the sunglasses, because they don't seem as safe," he said.

Warren stared at him for a minute.

"I hate my harness," he said.

"Huh?" Scott said.

"I hate my harness," Warren said, his voice vehement, "And I never knew just how much I hated it until I got to walk around without it. But now I'm gonna have to go out there and wear it or my dad's gonnna..."

He glared at the ground.

"It hurts," he said, "Not much but..."

"But it looked natural enough," Ororo said, stunned.

"Would it be natural if I tied your arm to your chest?" Warren said, "It's not too bad, but the pressure's like a slight itch that I can never scratch and after this..."

He reached over and stroked his wings.

"Here it's beautiful," he said, "Out there it's freakish."

"The Professor said we're not freaks," Scott said.

Warren's eyes raised so they met Scott's.

"I wish he'd tell my dad that," he said.

A silence fell over the group. Scott gripped the edge of the table in front of him, his mind racing.

"You can write to us you know," Scott said.

Warren frowned.

"Huh?" he asked.

"You can write to us when you go home," Scott said, "I know it's not much, but you can tell us what's going on. And summer's only a few months. Then you can come back and pass me more caricatures of Miss Mahn."

Warren's eyes blurred. He rubbed furiously at his face. Scott glanced away a little, trying to pretend that he didn't see Warren crying.

"What are you all up to so late?"

Scott turned and saw Moira in the doorway. She sighed when she saw Rahne.

"She should be in bed by now," she said.

As she went to pick up Rahne Warren turned a little so she wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. Moira gently picked up Rahne. Scott saw the title of the book she was reading gleam faintly in the light: _The Bible_. She'd been reading _The Bible_. For hours.

Rahne's eyes fluttered open. She smiled and mumbled something before cuddling closer into Moira's arms. Moira's eyes widened.

"Everything okay Miss Moira?" Scott asked.

Moira cleared her throat.

"Yes, everything's fine," she said, "I just need to get her to bed. You all should head up soon too. It's lights out in an hour."

Scott slid out of his chair as Moira walked out of the room. He leaned a little closer to Warren.

"I mean it, okay?" he whispered, "I'll give you my address tomorrow."

Warren's eyes seemed to blur even more.

"Thanks," he said.

"Hey," Scott said, "What are friends for?"

* * *

"Charles, do you have a minute?"

Charles looked up from his desk. Moira was standing in the doorway, her expression determined. He wondered what was wrong as he pushed aside his paperwork.

"Of course love," he said.

Moira pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. He reached out and took her hand, rubbing circles on the back of it. Some of the frown lines on her face began to disappear, and it made him glad. It couldn't be that serious.

They had so little time alone together that Charles cherished the few moments they managed during their day. He felt like he should take a day off, but he wasn't sure that the school was ready for that just yet.

They would have more time over the summer though. He was sure of that.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Moira said, "Not exactly."

She closed her eyes.

"I want to adopt Rahne," she said.

Charles's eyes widened.

"Sorry?" he asked.

Her eyes opened and he saw the determination there, as fierce as steel. He'd always admired that steel in her, although its sudden appearance surprised him. He wondered how long she had been considering adopting Rahne. It wasn't a decision that she would make lightly.

If she had been considering it for a while though, then she hadn't told him. Hurt crept its way into his mind: he had hoped that she would tell him about any serious decisions in her life now that he was a part of it.

"I want to adopt Rahne," Moira said, "I know it's going to be a little difficult, she doesn't seem to have any official records and I'm not exactly the dream candidate for an adoption agency..."

She nibbled her bottom lip.

"-but I think that I can do it," she said.

"Moira, at this point in our relationship I know quite well that you can do anything you set your mind to," Charles said, "But...you never told me...how long have you been thinking about this?"

"To tell you the truth, I haven't," Moira said, "I just...I love her Charles, but I never thought about adopting her until tonight."

Selfish relief stole over him: he was still in her confidence. It surprised him how much a little thing like that meant to him, but his relationship with Moira was quickly becoming the most stable thing in his life.

"What changed?" Charles said.

She bit down on her lip again.

"She called me 'mama' tonight Charles," she said.

He was only mildly surprised. He'd seen the way that Rahne had clung to Moira. He doubted that there had been a mother in her past. If there had been, then there certainly hadn't been any maternal kindness. Then Moira had stepped in, saved her life, told her that she was safe, and cared for her. After the life she had lived, it had probably seemed like Heaven itself had sent down a guardian angel for her.

"She was only half awake," Moira said, "But as soon as she called me that...I realized just how much I wanted to call her my daughter."

Charles smiled. He reached out and touched her cheek.

"You'd make a wonderful mother," he said.

Her eyes met his.

"Charles...I'd like you to help me with this," she said, "But I'd also like you to...support me."

"Support you?" he asked, confused.

Moira's eyes met his, and further questions died on his lips. Her gaze made it clear that she was not asking him permission. She was asking something else, something that made his heart soar.

She wanted him to be happy that she would be a mother. She wanted him to be a part of her future, and to be happy that there was a child in that future. His heart swelled with love and he brought her hand to his lips, caressing her knuckles with a soft kiss.

"As I said, you'll make a wonderful mother," Charles said, "And want to see that, more than anything."

She leaned forward and touched her forehead to his.

"I love you Charles."

"I love you too Moira."


	25. Chapter 25

"Alex?"

"Yeah?" Alex said.

He picked up a screwdriver and began to make sure that the front bumper was secure. Now that dinner was over, he could try to get some real work done. Scott watched him for a few minutes without saying anything. It irritated Alex. You didn't just start a conversation and then leave it.

"Spit it out Scotty boy," he said.

"I heard the Professor say that Lorna was gonna be an X-man," he said.

Alex crouched down in front of the bumper. He glanced over at where his brother sat on the counter, his legs dangling over the sides. He didn't bother asking how Scott had heard that. The boy had a natural talent for eavesdropping.

"Looks like," he said.

"And you're cool with that?" Scott asked.

"Yeah," Alex said, unsure where this conversation was going, "She talked to me about it a coupla months ago."

He still wasn't really sure how he felt about it. The thought of Lorna in danger sent butterflies into his stomach, as did the mere thought of her presence. He thought of the way that Azazel's swords had nearly ended Sean's life. Lorna might find herself in that position someday.

Even he hadn't left that encounter unscathed. Azazel's sword strikes to his head had left a cross-shaped scar on his forehead. Alex had told Scott he'd gotten it when someone had slammed his head into the wall. He wondered if he'd ever be able to tell him the truth.

He cleared his throat.

"The Professor isn't exactly happy about it, but it's gonna be pretty good to have another pair of eyes watching our back," Alex said.

That, at least, was true. The Brotherhood was getting bigger, and there were only three X-men. While he was glad that they had the Professor, and now Moira, as their support team, it wasn't the same as having someone there with them.

"So, yeah, it's settled," Alex said.

Scott fell silent again. Alex hated when his brother paused like that. It always meant that he was busy figuring something out. That usually meant that Alex was going to have to tell him a secret, and every time he did that he let his brother in on the dangerous life that he led. He wished he could get away with saying nothing at all.

"She's gonna get trained, right?" Scott asked.

"Yep. Me, the Professor, and Moira," Alex said, "And Hank and Sean, although I'm not sure she's gonna be great for aerial combat. I mean, I guess she'll be able to fly sooner or later. Still don't get how that shit works."

He hadn't understood when Erik had floated out of the submarine, but Hank had told him it had something to do with magnetic lines. Alex had soon decided he didn't care. It was enough to know that Erik could fly now, and that they needed to watch out for that.

Now they had to make sure that Lorna knew that too.

"She's gonna start sparring sessions soon," Alex said.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Scott asked.

Alex put down his screwdriver.

"Scotty boy, what's wrong?" he asked.

Scott looked down at the floor.

"Nothing," he said.

"Don't bullshit me," Alex said, "Okay?"

Scott swung his legs.

"Alex," he said, "It's just...it's like everyone's joining the X-men."

"Not really. There'll only be four of us when Lorna joins up," Alex said.

"But...a lot of the people I care about are in it," Scott said, his voice trembling, "All of the older ones. I mean, you, and Sean, and Hank, the Professor and Moira, and now Lorna."

Alex got up.

"You like Lorna, don't you?" he asked.

He didn't know why his brother's approval suddenly mattered, but he needed to know. A sinister voice inside him told him exactly why Scott's approval mattered, but he tried to keep it down. He didn't have time for that sort of thing.

"She's funny," Scott said, "She's good with Rahne, and she says I don't bug her. I don't like the idea of anything happening to her."

"Neither do I," Alex said.

"That's different," Scott said.

"Oh?" Alex asked, "Why's that?"

Scott didn't say anything. Alex rubbed the scar on his forehead. From time to time it itched.

"Scott, I have no desire to play games with you right now," he said, "I want you to tell me what's bothering you. I might be able to help-"

"You like her," Scott blurted.

Alex winced. Trust his brother to figure something like that out.

"I know you do," Scott said, "And I get it. I think."

"I...I don't really have time for that right now," Alex said, "If I did. Like her I mean. Which I don't."

Scott made a face.

"You're lying," he said, "You do. And I'm not being dumb or weird when I say it."

Alex continued to rub his scar, trying to figure out what to say.

"Okay, so what if I do?" Alex said.

Scott stopped swinging his legs.

"I just mean that I know you're worried about her too," Scott said, "And...it can be tough, you know, watching people you care about..."

His brother trailed off, his face a picture of misery.

"Scott," Alex sighed.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Scott asked, "You know it's hard."

Alex crossed his arms and looked down.

"Yeah, it's hard," he said, "One of the hardest damn things that I've ever had to do, let her suit up. She hasn't even done anything yet, and I'm already worried."

"Does she know?" Scott said.

"No," Alex said, "I don't have time."

"Bull-shit," Scott said.

Alex looked up.

"Don't say that shit," he said.

"You do," Scott said.

"I'm an adult," Alex said, "You're just a kid."

Scott began swinging his legs again.

"You could be happy, I think," Scott said, "Together."

Alex smiled to himself. Trust Scott to phrase it that way.

"I think she likes you too," Scott said.

Despite himself, Alex couldn't stop the words that came out next.

"What makes you think that?"

Scott grinned.

"Rahne says she does."

"You two playing matchmaker or something?" Alex said.

"No," Scott said, his voice innocent and hurt.

Alex laughed.

"Well, your little scheme's come to an end. Rahne won't have much time to do that in the future," he said.

"Why's that?" Scott asked.

"You'll see," Alex said.

* * *

"You're gonna be my mama?" Rahne asked.

Moira smiled and sat next to Rahne. The girl's eyes were wide and her lower lip was trembling. Moira reached out and touched her face. Rahne didn't flinch at the gesture, a sure sign of how far she'd come since coming to the Institute.

"Yes," Moira said, "The paperwork should be going through soon."

Her smile widened.

"A friend came through for me," she said.

She thought of Levine, of his incredulous voice when she'd asked him for a favor. She knew that what happened at the CIA hadn't sat well with him. She had been hung out to dry and publicly humiliated. She knew that he'd been ready to resign over the situation. Moira had asked him not to, and he'd reluctantly agreed. He still kept in contact though, the only friend who'd stayed by her after her fall from grace.

He'd been so shocked when she'd told him she was trying to adopt a child. Once he met Rahne she knew that he would understand.

"We'll still live here," Moira said, "But, well, you'll be my daughter."

Rahne stared at her, her lower lip trembling.

"Rahne?" Moira asked her.

"Why?" Rahne asked.

"What?" Moira asked.

Rahne's lip trembled even more. Her whole body seemed to be trembling.

"Why would you do that?" she asked.

Moira reached out and tucked some of Rahne's hair behind her ear.

"Because I love you," Moira said.

There was a pause. Rahne's eyes widened and shined with tears. Then Rahne threw her arms around Moira's waist, burying her face in her shirt. Moira wrapped her arms around her, holding her as close as she could. She stroked her hair as Rahne sobbed.

The child in her arms had been through so much. Moira held her tighter when she thought of the crowd, of the men ready to kill her because she was different. No child should have to feel the fear and pain that Rahne had felt.

Hopefully Moira would be able to keep her from that from now on. She stroked Rahne's hair soothingly, waiting for her sobs to subside. She didn't want to rush her though. Moira had held Rahne through enough of her nightmares to know that there was much to cry about.

"Let it out Rahne," she said, "It's going to be okay."

Rahne grabbed Moira's shirt tighter. Moira could feel her new daughter's tears soaking through her shirt, but she still didn't say anything. All it did was support her decision. Rahne was too young to be forced to face the world without someone fighting in her corner. She'd been defenseless for so long, but now she had someone to protect her. Moira wouldn't fail her.

When Rahne's tears finally subsided Rahne looked up at her.

"Why would you?" she asked, "Why...?"

"Because you're a wonderful child," Moira said, "I can't help but love you. And you deserve to be loved Rahne."

She kissed the top of her head.

"No matter what those monsters told you, you deserve to be loved," Moira said.

Rahne wrapped her hands around Moira's.

"You're like Ruth," she whispered.

"What?" Moira asked.

Rahne gave her a small smile.

"I've seen the way you look at the Professor, how he looks at you," Rahne said, "You're Ruth."

Moira furrowed her brow. Rahne leaned her head on Moira's chest and snuggled close to her.

"You came with Lorna to a people not your own, and found love with people not your own," Rahne said.

Moira froze, suddenly realizing what Rahne was talking about. Ruth, the Biblical heroine who wouldn't leave her widowed, childless mother-in-law. Her heart clenched: this was how Rahne saw her. She saw her as the woman who was willing to follow a loved one into a strange land, and live amongst a strange people that she had never seen before.

She wanted to cry. What had she done to deserve such love and respect from Rahne? She had only done what she had thought that anyone with a heart would do. It appeared that there were not as many people like that as she had thought.

"Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee," Rahne whispered, "for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

Her eyes met Moira's. Moira could feel the weight behind the words that Rahne was reciting. How long had it taken for Rahne to learn them? How long had she spent pouring over the words, hoping to see that kind of devotion and love with her own eyes?

"Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried," Rahne said, "The LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."

Moira kissed the top of Rahne's head again. She tightened her grip on Rahne, her responsibility enfolding her.

"Amen," Moira said.


	26. Chapter 26

"I think you've earned a five minute break," Alex said.

Lorna rolled her eyes.

"Thanks oh mighty one," she said, grabbing a towel.

"Hey, I mean it," Alex said, "You've been doing pretty good lately."

"Compared to what? Me doing miserably earlier?" she asked.

He snorted. Lorna had been training for the past two weeks. Moira had shown her a few basic moves in her first week, and she'd begun sparring with him at the beginning of that week.

So far she hadn't won against him, but he knew that he probably didn't have more than a few months before she proved a tough challenge. She'd shown herself to be resourceful. Lorna would kick when he expected her to punch, and she wasn't afraid to go for vulnerable points or bite him.

She told him once, after he narrowly avoided her yanking his ear to his feet, that she'd been in a few fights at school. He could see that. She had a temper on her, and he had a feeling that she'd been bullied at one point. It looked like she had given back just as much as she'd gotten.

Alex knew her willingness to go to any lengths to win would be pretty useful when she went out into the battlefield. As it was now, it was just leaving him with a lot of strange bruises. At least he could explain these ones to his brother.

There was something else though. Their matches were also leaving him with a burning sensation in his stomach, being so close to her and seeing her flushed in the exhilaration of the fight, smelling the sweat on her skin.

Sometimes he hated his hormones.

"Alex?"

He started and saw that Lorna was staring at him.

"Yeah?"

"Geez, what are you, Mr. Spacey?" she asked.

He sat down next to her.

"Just a little out of it," he said, "Exams are coming up and all."

"Right, right," Lorna said, "Like they aren't for me."

He just shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just asking if you heard anything about how things are going with the whole adoption thing," Lorna said.

"Last I checked Moira was gonna sign the papers on Thursday," Alex said.

"Awesome," Lorna said, "Rahne's been in a really great mood lately. I think she might actually be willing to talk to strangers soon."

He nodded, rotating his shoulders.

"Something up?" Lorna asked.

Alex sighed. He hadn't thought that he'd looked that disturbed.

"It's just...I don't know how much Moira's told you...but Rahne's files-" he began.

"-don't exist?" Lorna said.

Alex nodded. He wasn't surprised that she knew.

"Does it seem odd to you that there are no records of a Rahne Sinclair anywhere?" he said, "I mean, Rahne's real little, but she's not dumb. It's not like she made up her name."

Lorna picked up a towel and began wiping the sweat off the back of her neck.

"No, you're right. It seems damn weird," she said.

"It's possible that the asshole who tried to kill her got rid of her records," Alex said, "But...wouldn't there be a copy somewhere? Something that got registered, a birth certificate at a hospital, a single, solitary doctor's visit?"

Lorna nodded.

"I mean, it let Moira adopt her easier," Alex said, "She's got some friends who are willing to input some data, but there's nothing for Rahne. Nothing."

They had known for some time that there weren't many files on Rahne. However, it was only now that Moira wanted to adopt Rahne that certain things were coming to light. They had just found out that, as far as the government was concerned, Rahne Sinclair didn't exist.

"It's not like it's impossible though," Lorna said.

"How could it not be impossible?" Alex said.

Lorna gave him an even look.

"Alex, according to the government, I don't have a biological father," she said, "According to them, my mom just randomly gave birth to me one day."

He made a face.

"That's not the same thing," he said.

"No, it's not," Lorna said, "But the idea is there."

She threw the towel down.

"It's really simple when you think about it," she said, "Her mother probably wasn't married to the father, and she probably gave birth to her in some backwater hospital and died soon after. The hospital lost the certificate when no one claimed her. The baby was shuffled off to the orphanage, and when the guy figured out she was a mutant he thought it wasn't worth keeping official tabs on her. He also could've gotten rid of the certificate."

"There has to be more than one certificate though," Alex said.

"Like I said, backwater," Lorna said.

She reached out for her water bottle.

"I'm not really worried as to the why so much as what it means," Lorna said.

"Which is?" Alex asked.

"Shot records, immunizations, any prior conditions. We don't know anything about them," Lorna said, "If she had something serious then we might've found out by now, but you never know. I'm just worried about the shots that she's gonna need."

He cocked his head.

"That's practical," he said.

"It's the only thing we can think about at this point," she said, "Moving forward."

"So you aren't even remotely curious why there aren't any files on Rahne anywhere?" he asked.

"I am. I'm just saying that there's no point to figuring it out," she said, "What would it help? People terrorized her, and they probably screwed up her files. We need to keep looking at the future."

She took a swig of water. Alex tapped his fingers against his leg, debating with himself for a moment.

"Is that how you think about your father?" he asked.

She stopped drinking and lowered her water bottle.

"Just curious," he said.

She narrowed her eyes.

"I don't think that's any of your damn business," she said.

"No need to get pissy," Alex said, putting up his hands defensively, "I just wanted to ask. You don't talk about it, and if you really aren't curious-"

"I did talk about it," Lorna said, "He was an idiot. He left my mom before he knew she was pregnant, and he didn't leave her with an address or anything. End of story."

"But that's not all there is to it, is there?" Alex said, "Not for you."

Lorna slammed her water bottle down on the bench.

"That is the end of it," she snapped.

Alex knew that he was getting himself in too deep, but he couldn't stop.

"You're not even a little bit curious?" he asked, "If it was my dad-"

"It's not your dad!" Lorna snapped, "Your dad's dead!"

Anger welled up inside him. Lorna's face fell and she looked away.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He took a deep breath, struggling to calm down.

"I didn't mean it," Lorna said.

"Okay," Alex said, "Okay."

It wasn't okay though. Alex wished that he'd never brought her stupid father up. He still had no idea what had possessed him to do so. He thought about telling her that they should start sparring again, but he didn't know if he could keep himself under control well enough to refrain from doing something stupid.

"Alex, I mean it."

He looked over at her.

"I'm just...I wish you hadn't asked," she said.

"Me too," Alex said.

He winched when he realized how that sounded. He hated that he still cared after what she'd said, but he'd said worse over less provocation. His anger began to melt away, and he stared at his hands.

"I didn't use a lot of tact," he said, "I'm not great at that."

Lorna didn't answer. They sat in silence and Alex let his mind wander. He was under more control now: they could go back to sparring. He wasn't sure if this was the best place to leave things, but it wasn't as though they were going to get any resolution from this.

"He left."

Alex glanced over at Lorna. She still wouldn't look at him.

"Your dad didn't leave you," she said, "Mine left."

"You said he didn't know that she was pregnant," Alex said.

"He didn't. I'm not angry that he left me," Lorna said, "How can I be? It's not like he knew I existed. I hadn't even been born yet."

Her voice became bitter.

"No. He didn't leave me. He left my mom Alex," she said, "You didn't know her, so you don't know what that means."

She swung her legs absently.

"She was too trusting by far," Lorna said, "Always. She was the kind of cheerfully optimistic person that I wish I could be. And she...she just had this kind of happy glow about her. She was patient and gentle. The number of times I came home with a split lip and she just tsked at me, like she got it. She understood. She was my best friend."

Lorna closed her eyes. He could see tears gathering there.

"And when I started with my powers, when my hair started turning green, she got that too," Lorna said, "She's not scared of me like those assholes were of Rahne. She just...went with it. It was just a part of me, and she loved me, so she loved it. I think she loved everywhere."

One of her hands clenched into a fist and her eyes opened.

"And he left without even giving her a way to contact him," she said, "He might not have known about me...but I think he cared about her. He..."

She swallowed and reached into one of her zippered pockets. She took out the silver rose necklace that she'd lost on the field.

"He gave her this," Lorna said, "And that...they weren't rich. Neither of them. The fact that he wanted to give her something must've meant something. And she kept it. So that meant something too. And it's..."

She let out a frustrated breath and shoved away her unshed tears with her hand.

"I don't understand how you can just up and leave someone that you love," she said.

Alex nodded.

"Me neither," he said quietly.

She turned and looked at him, a weak grin on her face.

"That's why I like you Alex," she said, "Because you don't get it. I mean, you're kind of an asshole-"

He made a face of mock horror, his stomach flipping at her words. She laughed, but the sound was as weak as her grin.

"But I look at you and your brother, and your friends," Lorna said, "And I know that you'd do anything for them. The Professor, Moira, you stand by the people that you care about."

One of her hands reached up and touched his face.

"That's what's great about you," she said.

Alex felt his cheek tingling underneath her touch. He reached out and touched her hand before bringing it to his lips. Her skin was cool, tasting like sweat and a few stray tears that she'd wiped away. When he looked up he saw that she was staring at him.

His blood went cold. She'd been trying to tell him how she felt about a delicate subject, and he'd just kissed her hand. He felt like a moron.

"Too much?" he asked, his throat dry.

She bit her lip and then leaned forward. Her sweat-tinged lips met his briefly. It barely lasted five seconds before she pulled away. Nonetheless his stomach did cartwheels, and he fought the urge to crush her to him. That really would've been too much.

It was his turn to stare at her as she looked at him, her green eyes waiting.

"Dinner. Somewhere. Soon?" he managed.

Lorna laughed and tossed her hair.

"Sure thing," she said.


	27. Chapter 27

"Scott, look at this," Ororo said.

Scott stretched, but he didn't feel like bothering too much. It was hot out that day, and he felt sleepy. The Professor said that they were going through a heat wave, and the Institute's air conditioning didn't seem like enough. It was a big house, but still.

Several students, including Warren, had gone home for the break. He wrote to him frequently, but Warren's letters were erratic. At first Scott had been irritated, he had made sure that Warren knew he could talk to him, but then he remembered that Warren's father didn't like mutations. Maybe he didn't like Warren writing back often. He decided not to comment.

He stretched again and closed his eyes. On days when they went outside to play, it seemed even more stifling. Rahne was already asleep. Scott knew that his brother and Lorna were out somewhere, but he'd known better than to ask if he could come. Ororo's "kissy kissy" comment was a bit truer now.

"Scott!"

"Okay Ororo," he mumbled.

"You're still not watching," Ororo said, her voice a huff.

"It's too hot to pay attention," Scott said.

"Just watch!"

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and sat up. Rahne stirred next to him and lifted her head. Ororo waved her hand and a few clouds appeared over the sun. There was a slight chill in the air and Scott blinked.

"You did that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ororo said, "The Professor's been showing me some ways to concentrate my powers. See, it's cool over here-"

She pointed to where they were.

"But it's hot over there," she said.

She pointed to the next tree over. Scott could see the heat lines waving there.

"This means..." he said.

"What?" Ororo asked, "Means what?"

He made a face.

"It means you could've been doing this a lot sooner and we wouldn't have been frying all this time," he said.

Ororo narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not your personal air conditioning system," Ororo said.

"I think it's neat," Rahne said.

Her voice was timid and uncertain, but Ororo beamed. She flopped down next to Rahne.

"That's because you're smart," she said.

She put an arm around Rahne. Rahne smiled back, her flinch barely visible. Ever since her last name had become MacTaggert Rahne had seemed more confident.

"What's your favorite type of weather?" Ororo asked.

"Huh?"

"Your favorite type of weather Rahne," Ororo said.

Rahne hesitated.

"I liked it when it snowed," she said, "They kept all the kids inside, and he was too busy to watch me. I got to go out sometimes, when it had snowed. It was pretty."

Ororo nodded, nonplussed by Rahne's answer. Scott didn't bat an eye either, just felt an old sadness in the pit of his stomach. They had all had days like that, although Scott knew that Rahne had had more of those than he had.

From the confident way that Ororo looked at the sky, Scott wondered if she'd had more of those days than he'd had too.

"Watch this Rahne," she said.

She looked at the sky, her eyes turning white. A minute later the clouds above them began to get heavier. Snowflakes began to float down. Rahne squeaked and put her hand out. Several snowflakes fell into it.

All around them heat waves shimmered, but the snow began to pile up beneath the tree. Scott shivered, but he didn't want to step out into the blaring heat.

"This is so amazing," Rahne whispered.

"I'm glad you think so," Ororo said.

Rahne shivered. A minute later she stretched. Scott could see the fur begin to grow on her face and down her back. He saw her tail peek out from the bottom of her skirt. Her furry hands reached up towards the sky, her amber eyes glinting.

Scott was shocked, and even Ororo seemed startled. Rahne tended not to display her mutation out in the open. Alex had told Scott that she could turn into a wolf creature, but he'd never seen her do it before.

She looked around her and gave a small smile.

"Mama says it's beautiful," she said.

"Your fur's soft," Ororo offered, petting the back of Rahne's head.

Rahne giggled.

"We could build snowmen," she said, "Or make snow angels."

"So this is what you do when I show you how to control the weather?"

They looked up. The Professor wheeled out of the Institute, his face amused. Ororo laughed.

"It was fun," she said.

"Try to use your powers a little more responsibly," he said, "You have so much Ororo."

She frowned.

"But you said we shouldn't be scared of them," she said.

"And so you shouldn't," the Professor said, "But they are powerful. I'm not disapproving of what you've done here. I just urge a little more caution in public."

"She did it 'cause I asked her too," Rahne said, her voice small.

The Professor looked down at Rahne. Scott could see his face soften fractionally.

"No one's in trouble Rahne," he said.

She smiled, her fangs showing. Rahne gave another timid smile and flopped back into the snow, waving her arms and legs. Scott had heard Alex say that he wondered how Rahne saw the Professor. Moira wasn't married to him, but it was pretty obvious that they were dating. If he married Moira, then he'd kind of be her father.

It made Scott wonder how Rahne felt about the Professor too. Did the Professor wonder about that? Ororo's laughter rang clear across the area as she flopped back with Rahne, making a snow angel in the middle of summer.

He moved forward to join them, but something stopped them. Instead of making a snow angel himself, Scott stared at the two of them. They made an odd picture, the wolf girl and the weather witch. An ache began deep inside his chest. He wasn't sure what it was, but it unnerved him.

"Don't you want to join them?" the Professor asked.

"I don't really like the snow," Scott lied.

The Professor turned his head towards him.

"Scott, is something wrong?" he asked.

Scott blew out a breath.

"No."

"It's alright," the Professor said.

Scott hesitated, but he had the feeling that the Professor wasn't going to let it go.

"They're really happy," he said.

"Yes."

"And that's good," Scott said, "But Ororo, she just laughed and made it snow. Rahne just smiled and turned into this wolf thing."

"And?" the Professor asked.

"They're having fun," Scott said.

"And?" the Professor prompted.

Scott could feel his throat clogging.

"I can't," he said, "Not like them."

The Professor gave him a long look, one of his fingers tapping his chin. Scott became afraid that he didn't understand. He shouldn't have said anything: it didn't make sense and it made him look whiny and dumb.

"You don't think that there's anything fun about your mutation, do you?" the Professor asked.

Scott nodded: he did understand.

_Scott, do you think that this is interesting?_

The Professor had been in Scott's mind before, so he wasn't shocked when he felt his voice echo from the recesses of his head. It hadn't happened often, but it had happened. He nodded without thinking.

_Do you think that you could do something fun with this? With talking to people in their heads? Something worthwhile?_

Scott nodded again.

_I never thought that growing up. I was scared of what I was and I tried to use it as little as possible_, the Professor thought, _Then I found someone like me but even then...they didn't want me in their head. It wasn't until I was much older that I found people who would welcome my gifts, someone who wanted to hear me in their mind._

Scott couldn't have stopped his next thought even if he'd tried.

_You mean Miss Moira, right?_ he thought.

The Professor chuckled. Scott blushed and looked away.

_She's not the only one who's accepted me for who I am, but yes, I suppose that I do mean her_, the Professor thought, smiling, _You need to accept yourself for who you are._

Scott looked at Rahne and Ororo. Rahne had sat up, snow sticking to her brown fur.

_There's nothing safe about what I do though_, Scott thought,_ I mean, with Ororo, it doesn't have to be dangerous. She just made it snow a little. Rahne can just turn into a wolf and use it to run around and get warm. She can control when she does it, right?_

_Yes. _

_So neither of them have to be dangerous, _Scott thought, putting a hand to his goggles_, I do. _

_I know it might seem like that. _

_It is like that though,_ Scott thought, _I mean, I blow things up. There's no point in using that kind of thing unless I'm Alex when he's fighting people. _

_You may think that now-_

_I know that_, Scott thought, _There's nothing good about my power. It's only a weapon. _

For a moment the Professor tapped his chin with his finger again.

_Scott, has it occurred to you that that might be the best thing about your power?_

_Huh?_ Scott thought.

_Not that it's a weapon of course_, the Professor thought, _But that it can be used for combat. Ororo's power is very decentralized. It's very powerful, but if she were to have a single target, then she'd have to do something big, such as a lightning strike, to take them down. That could leave her drained. Rahne says that sometimes it's hard to pick out a single scent when she's in her wolf form, and that it can be overwhelming when there are too many people._

_So it can be used for combat,_ Scott said, _I don't like that. _

_Scott, you're only thinking of combat in the strictest sense,_ the Professor thought, _You're failing to see what it could be used for that Ororo and Rahne might not be able to do effectively. _

_And what's that?_

_Protect others,_ the Professor said.

Scott bit his lip.

_The two times that I used this, I blew up a building and I set the practice room on fire. _

_Because you hadn't practiced with it. If you had more control, then you might be able to do even better strikes than your brother,_ the Professor thought.

Better than Alex? The idea was laughable.

_I'm not gonna use this. _

_Scott, it's been a few years,_ the Professor thought,_ I wish that you would at least try. _

_I don't wanna!_

The thought came out petulant and whiny. The Professor sighed and nodded.

_That is your decision Scott. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do_, he thought.

_Thank you_, Scott thought.

The Professor removed his finger from his chin.

_However, I would like you to consider something._

Scott had to fight the urge to groan. Of course he'd want him to consider something.

_Do you see how happy they are?_ the Professor said, gesturing to Ororo and Rahne.

Ororo had gotten up and started laughing as Rahne tried to pick out some of the snow from her fur.

_They have, at least in some small part, accepted who they are and what they can do,_ the Professor thought, _My concern for you, Scott, for any student who comes through these gates is that if you can't accept this part of yourself, then you won't be able to have that happiness. You'll never be able to join them. _

Scott swallowed and turned his head to the side.

_Can you please get out of my head?_ he thought.

_Of course Scott._


	28. Chapter 28

It really shouldn't have been this difficult. They hadn't even brought the Blackbird: just one of the spare cars. All they were supposed to do was go in on a quick reconnaissance mission and figure out just what it was that Kelly was saying at his little "private" dinner. Alex wasn't sure if you could apply the word "private" to a dinner where there were over a hundred donors, but he didn't try to fathom the minds of politicians.

Not that Kelly was heavy hitter. Not yet. He was only in his early twenties now, but they knew enough from his inflammatory language that he could be a problem in the future. He had ambitions, and they all knew that he wouldn't be satisfied with a small position in the mayor's office for too long.

Alex had planned this to be Lorna's first field mission. It was going to be a nice, quiet little introduction to their lives as X-men. She was also quiet, which was good because they would be in a lot of trouble if they were seen. They just had to get there, listen to him for a bit, and then get out of there before they were seen.

He'd assigned her roof detail, and she'd gotten up there to take an aerial view. Alex had slipped on a tuxedo and blended for a while, acting servile enough not to be noticed. No one noticed an extra server at an affair like this. Not when there were so many rich people and so many canapés that needed to be served.

The problem had been that they weren't the only ones keeping an eye on Kelly. Alex figured that the Brotherhood had him earmarked in some way or another. He'd just never figured that they were that interested. Alex had almost made it out of the grounds and rendezvoused with Lorna before a spiked indigo foot knocked him to the ground.

He'd gotten to his feet, but not before Mystique managed to land another solid punch on his stomach. His uniform, securely hidden beneath his tuxedo, absorbed most of the impact. It still hurt like hell though, and he knew that his face was bleeding.

Alex stumbled backwards and put his fists up. He wasn't going to be able to use his powers. Not without alerting Kelly's entire party that mutants had gotten into a fight there. That was just what they needed to fuel Kelly's campaign. He'd probably become some sort of martyr then. Alex could already see the headlines, and none of them were good.

He blocked Mystique's next kick and quickly moved to parry. Despite Moira's combat lessons, and his own refreshers with Lorna, he knew that he probably wasn't on Mystique's level. She'd had people who were much more combat ready teach her, and without his powers he was at a distinct disadvantage. He couldn't match her physically, not with his blunt, unsophisticated moves.

Alex seemed to be taking hits at every turn. Her kicks and punches were more powerful than he remembered. Alex once again found himself having trouble keeping up. He didn't understand: she couldn't have gotten that much better in so little time, could she? He couldn't have gotten that much worse either.

Another thought came into his mind. Why was she attacking him? Was she trying to make a scene and force him to use his powers? Was that the goal, to create panic about mutants? It was a possibility, he certainly wouldn't put it past the Brotherhood to try something like that, but was that really their style?

No. He didn't think it was. There weren't any security cameras on this part of the compound. Hank had been rather thorough when he checked out the security system on Kelly's house. If they'd done a sweep, then he figured the Brotherhood would have as well.

Besides, it didn't sound like them. The Brotherhood had, in the four years that he'd been fighting them, struck him as sneaky and underhanded. They wouldn't be this obvious in their motives. And what if he hadn't shown up? They wouldn't have known for sure that the X-men were this interested in Kelly. Would they have risked their own people in a fight?

Once again, he doubted it. The Brotherhood was comprised of awful people, but it wasn't comprised of animals. They weren't going to tear each other apart. The question remained then, why the hell he found himself trapped in a fight with Mystique of all people.

She couldn't have been ordered to do this: it didn't fit. That meant that, for some reason or another, it was personal. Why would it be personal? While Alex thought she was a filthy traitor who'd tried to kill Sean, something that could apply to the entire Brotherhood at one time or another, he'd given up on hating her any more than the rest. Her being the Professor's sister meant that she was just more arrogant and heartless than the rest.

He continued to dodge her punches. As far as he knew, there was no reason for Mystique to have any sort of vendetta against him. However, it was plain that she did. During their last direct confrontation he'd blown up the ceiling and forced her to retreat? Was she this angry over that?

It didn't matter. Either way, she was angry, and now that he was looking, he could see fury in her eyes. He could use that.

"Nyah nyah," he hummed softly.

It was childish, but he knew from experience that it still had the ability to annoy the heck out of people. Mystique's eyes flashed.

"You can't get me," he said.

Her attacks became wider and more furious. He began moving backwards, towards the area that he had set up a rendezvous with Lorna. If Lorna arrived at the appointed time, then he would have back-up soon. Not that Mystique would know that.

He dodged one of her kicks.

"Is that all you've got?" Alex asked.

Fury flashed in her eyes again. A small flicker inside of him wondered just where the innocent blue-eyed girl he'd once known had gone. It died almost immediately. There was no room for sentimentality in his fights with the Brotherhood. He'd learned that long ago.

He laughed as he continued to dodge her.

"You're really not very good at this are you?" he asked, "They shoulda sent someone else if you were gonna go sneak attack."

She whipped around and Alex punched her in the jaw. It didn't quite break, but he could hear it creaking. He used the opportunity to look around. He was in the rendezvous spot: where the hell was Lorna? She should've been there by now.

Mystique kicked out and tripped him. Alex fell on his back, but used his feet as a battering ram into her stomach. When she moved away he got back on his feet and put up his arms in time to block a punch. She just kept coming.

"Aren't you bored already?" Alex said, "Because I am."

She snarled at him and aimed low. Alex tried to move out of the way, but she tripped him again. He hit the ground, hard, and the next thing he knew she was straddling him, her hands around his throat.

"Is this boring?" she snarled, her hands tightening.

Alex struggled, his fingers reaching up and digging into her face. He knew he was drawing blood: he could see the droplets, feel them dripping onto his face. Mystique didn't flinch. Her grip kept tightening.

"How does it feel?" she hissed, "How does it feel?"

He choked, his hands still tearing and clawing. He was not going to die in the backyard of some two-bit politician. He was not going to get killed by Mystique, not like this. Alex needed to fight, needed to get out of her grasp, win, go home.

Scott was waiting for him.

"You deserve this," Mystique said, "It's your fault he's gone."

Black spots started to swarm in front of his vision. Who was she talking about? A vague idea began to form, but his air and vision were fading fast.

"You deserve this," Mystique repeated.

"Let him go!"

Alex was glad that he was conscious enough to see Lorna tackle Mystique. It was glorious. Her hands left his throat and Mystique was sent tumbling over the ground. The two of them stopped rolling and Alex tried to push himself up, coughing and trying to catch his breath.

His vision was still blurring. He stumbled to his feet, hacking and coughing. Lorna was putting up a pretty good resistance. He couldn't help but be impressed, and he was glad that Hank had sewn metal clips along the side of Lorna's uniform. They had detached from her arms and were sailing through the air around the two combatants.

Mystique's spiked foot caught Lorna's face. She twisted around her and put both of her hands around Lorna's head. Alex knew that she was going to try to snap her neck, but he couldn't quite believe it.

Still, he knew he had to do something over it.

"Hey," he managed, his voice coming out a hoarse whisper, "Ever stab someone in the neck? Feels great."

He could barely hear his own words, but Mystique did. Her head snapped around, her eyes flashing. Lorna used the opportunity to throw her head back. He heard a crunch and Mystique stumbled away, her nose bleeding and crooked.

"Did you hear that?"

Alex whipped his head around. Security. Lorna heard it too. They were exposed. Alex was wearing a server's uniform and had obviously been attacked. Lorna had bright green hair, and Mystique was Mystique. They were going to start an incident if they stayed much longer.

Lorna ran forward and grabbed his wrist. Pulling him along they sprinted away. He looked behind them, still trying to get his breath back, but Mystique wasn't anywhere to be found. He figured that she'd split when she heard security coming too.

It took them a few minutes before they got into the car. Lorna didn't wait for him to buckle up before pulling out and heading onto the road. Alex leaned against the cool glass of the window, his throat feeling as though it had been squeezed down to half its size.

It probably had been. First Emma, now Mystique. Why did they always go for the throat?

"Alex, are you okay?" Lorna asked.

He managed a nod. Her fingers touched the side of his neck, and he winced.

"That's going to bruise," she said.

"Hands on wheel," he rasped.

Lorna laughed.

"Alright, but try not to talk so much," Lorna said.

She cleared her throat.

"Alex, just nod your head yes or no to this," she said, her voice quiet, "But...what Mystique said...did you...?"

She didn't have to finish the sentence, he nodded, feeling miserable. He'd told himself time and time again that he hadn't cared what he did to Azazel, that he was evil and that Alex had needed to save Sean. It hadn't mattered.

He still couldn't get himself to believe it. He needed Lorna to understand though.

"Gonna kill Sean," he managed.

"Shhh," Lorna said, "Hank's gonna kill me if I get you talking, damaging your windpipes."

She cleared her throat again.

"I figured it would be something like that," she said.

One of her hands touched the side of his face, and he closed his eyes. His throat still hurt horribly, but it seemed a little more bearable now.

"Does...does Scott know?"

Alex shook his head.

"Never," he whispered.


	29. Chapter 29

"Warren!"

Scott grinned at Warren, waving his hand. Warren's face lit up a minute before Ororo ran out of a side hall and tackled him. Warren stumbled, but his grin widened. Scott put his hands into his pockets and walked over.

Warren's luggage lay scattered around his feet. Scott thought that he looked a little sheepish at just how much there was about it. There were a lot of students coming back in, and there had already been two arguments about rooms earlier that day.

Scott had been looking forward to seeing Warren again though.

"Glad to see me?" Warren asked.

"Yeah, it's boring with Mr. Strait-laced over here," Ororo said, rolling her eyes at Scott.

"I'm not that bad," Scott said.

"You kinda are though," Ororo said.

Warren gave a sheepish nod.

"It's not like you can help it," he said, "Your brother being who he is and all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott said, putting his hands on his hips.

Warren frowned and Ororo took her arms off from around him.

"Well, if my brother was a teacher then I think I'd be kinda anxious about causing trouble too," Warren said.

Scott gaped.

"Alex isn't a teacher," he said.

"What?" Scott asked.

Ororo threw her head back and laughed.

"I don't get it," Warren said.

"Alex isn't a teacher," Ororo said, "He's a student."

"No way," Warren said.

"He's a student," Scott said, "How old do you think he is?"

"Teacher age," Warren said.

Scott just shook his head.

"He's studying to be a teacher, but he isn't one yet," he said.

"Huh," Warren said, "He's just really responsible and really boring."

"He's not boring," Scott said.

"Okay, okay," Warren said, "I haven't seen him much."

He rubbed his chin.

"That kinda changes things," he said, "I just thought...I mean...the way he goes about..."

"That's just Alex," Ororo said, her voice confident.

"Yeah," Scott said, his voice proud, "That's just Alex."

Warren shrugged.

"So," he said, "Where's Rahne? She's still here right?"

Scott looked over his shoulder. Two eyes peeked out from around the door to the library. He figured she'd be nearby.

"Come on," he said, waving her over.

Rahne timidly walked forward. Scott wasn't sure why she was suddenly timid around Warren, but it had been a few months. Rahne tended to get more timid the longer she stayed away from people. All of the people who came flooding back to the Institute now that school was over made her nervous.

She sidestepped some luggage and stood in front of Warren, her hands clasped behind her back.

"You're getting taller," Warren said.

Rahne flashed him a fang-filled grin. Warren laughed and ruffled her hair before she launched herself into his arms. He laughed even louder and swung her around. Scott could see the pure joy on his face. While Scott was glad that his friend was back, he didn't think that it was normal for people to be so relieved to leave home.

There was a sound like a grunt behind them. Scott inclined his head and saw that an older student had stubbed his toe on one of Warren's suitcases. He figured that he was about fifteen.

"This your shit angel-boy?" he snapped.

Warren stiffened. He calmly put a hand around Rahne's shoulders.

"Yeah," he said.

"Keep it out of the way," the boy said.

Warren just shrugged.

"What, have a hard time speaking?" the boy said.

Scott coughed and stepped to the side.

"It's just an accident," Scott said.

"Stay outta this one-eye," the boy snapped.

Scott had to stop himself from touching his goggles self-consciously. It was pure instinct. One of his hands had already begun to make its journey. He stopped it and hoped that no one had seen.

From Ororo's expression he could tell that she had seen.

"And you're just so awesome looking," she said.

"Ororo?" Scott said, "It's no big deal."

He knew better than to antagonize the boy in front of them. Besides, he could see that Rahne was already getting anxious. The boy just laughed. A few students had begun to stop what they were doing and were looking at them, curious.

He didn't want to be the center of attention though.

"Nah, just go ahead and let your girlfriend protect you," the boy said.

Scott could see the irritation in Ororo's eyes. A few older boys were moving towards the boy speaking. From the smiles on their faces Scott had the feeling that they weren't about to step in and help any time soon.

He wondered what Alex would do. He thought of his brother's swaggering indifference in the face of danger. It was time to play up some bravado.

"No one cares," Scott shrugged.

He turned his back on the boy and began to walk towards the rest of the group. When the hand grabbed him from behind images began flashing in front of his eyes of his days in the orphanage. He remembered being pushed down the stairs, the black eyes, bruises, cuts, Mr. Windsor telling him that he was making it all up.

Panic began to coil in his stomach as the boy forced him to face him. He couldn't go through that again. Not now that Alex was there to ask him what happened, now that his helpless shame would be viewed by people he cared about. That wasn't going to happen here. He couldn't let it.

"What did you say you little-"

Scott's hand lashed out and he shoved his palm into the boy's nose. The boy howled and dropped him. Scott scrambled backwards as one of the boy's friends moved forwards. He had no idea what he was going to do. He had caught the first boy by surprise, but he knew that the second one wouldn't be.

Before he could figure something out, Warren tackled the boy and shoved him to a ground. Scott saw feathers fly in the air and he moved forwards to help him. The boy's other friend moved towards him, but Ororo had launched herself at him.

Scott could only feel a little lost. He'd never really thought of either of his friends fighting, but he hadn't thought that Warren would be the type to fight. He knew that Ororo hadn't had the best past, but he hadn't pictured her in a brawl.

He felt hands grab the back of his shirt. Scott looked behind him and saw the first boy, his nose bleeding. Scott stared at him for a moment before kicking him as hard as he could in the stomach. The boy dropped him and Scott kicked him in the shin.

He didn't pause to see his reaction. Ororo seemed to be doing fine: the boy she was fighting had long hair and she was pulling it with all her strength. Warren wasn't doing too well though. He looked tired and his lip was bloody.

Scott ran over and kicked the boy in the shin. He let Warren go and, together, they pushed him over. Warren looked over at Scott.

"Thanks for having my back," he said.

"Same here," Scott said.

Warren opened his mouth, but a fist knocked him down. Scott saw that the first boy was back, and he saw a fist flying in his direction. The punch hit him in the stomach, and Scott went down. He curled his arms around his stomach, knowing that it would bruise, and he coughed a few times.

"Ready for some more?" the boy asked.

He made another fist and aimed for Scott's face. The punch never made it though. Another hand caught it and the boy stumbled. The grip held firm.

"You lay one more goddamned finger on him, and it's gonna be the last goddamned thing you ever do," Alex snarled.

He shoved the boy away. His voice had come out as a breathy growl. Scott knew that he'd hurt his throat a few weeks ago during a mission with the X-men. Alex hadn't gone into details, but Scott had seen the bruises around his throat.

At the moment he was wearing a turtleneck, so no one else could. The only thing that the injury managed to do was make his voice sound even more intimidating, like he'd like nothing more than to beat the boy in front of him to a pulp.

Scott swallowed and looked around. Peeking from the corner of the staircase he cold see Rahne watching the scene with wide eyes. He could only assume that she had gotten his brother.

"You," Alex said, his voice low as he pointed to the boy Ororo was fighting with, "Give up. Ororo, let go of his hair."

Ororo let go. She hurried towards Scott and Warren, kneeling down next to them. Alex stepped in front of them as the boy glared at him.

"He started it," he said.

"Right, the eleven year old started it," Alex hissed, "Don't push your luck asshole. I'm five seconds away from bypassing the Professor and just beating the shit out of you right here and now."

The boy's eyes narrowed, but Scott could see that he was scared. His two friends were moving behind him, looking like they wanted to get out of there.

"You're pretty damn high and mighty," he said.

"High and mighty?" Alex laughed, "No. What I am though, is pissed."

His voice was a growl again.

"I'm not in a position to punish you," he said, "But let's get one thing perfectly straight asshole. You ever, ever touch my brother or any of his friends, or anyone at this Institute and I will find you. And I will rain down so much fire down on you that you'll think you're in hell."

His eyes narrowed and the boy flinched.

"I don't know where you came from," Alex hissed, "But we do not hurt children here. We don't start fights for no damn reason. Now get the hell out of here."

The boy scrambled to obey. Alex watched him go, along with his friends. Once he was gone Alex looked at the rest of the students, who were standing and staring.

"And all of you," he said, "Next time, someone should have the sense of a six-year-old to get someone who can do something. Don't you all have to move in or something?"

The crowd hurried away. Alex knelt down in front of Scott. He put a hand to his face.

"You okay?" he whispered.

Scott nodded. Alex looked at Ororo and Warren.

"Let's see Hank about that lip," Alex said.

He got up, helping Scott with him. Rahne came down from the stairs, standing amongst them nervously.

"Did I do the right thing?" she murmured.

"Yeah," Ororo said, "Good job."

Rahne beamed. Alex smiled at her and began to lead them down to Hank's lab.

"Alex?" Scott asked.

"Yeah?" Alex said.

"He...he was telling him the truth," Scott said, "I did hit him first."

Alex looked at him over his shoulder.

"Only after he grabbed you," Warren protested.

"That's what I thought," Alex said.

He grinned.

"You know, as a teacher-in-training, I shouldn't say this, but you guys are pretty good in a fight together," he said.

Although his stomach still hurt, Scott grinned back at him. He knew he shouldn't be proud of what happened, but anything that made his brother compliment him was a good thing. It was hard to see it any other way.

Warren nudged him.

"I was totally wrong about your brother," he whispered, "He's cool."

Scott beamed.


	30. Chapter 30

Alex yawned and leaned back in his seat. He looked over at Hank, who looked like he was concentrating on something. His eyes were glued on the microscope in front of him. Alex tossed his pencil at Hank's shoulder. Hank caught it before it touched him.

"I would prefer not to be distracted," Hank said.

"Too late," Alex said, "I'm bored. I've written my millionth lesson plan, and they all suck."

"I'm sure they don't suck," Hank said, still not looking up."

"Either way, they're boring," Alex said, "My brain's melting."

"That's impossible, and you know it."

"Look, it's oozing out of my nose."

"Alex, I have neither the time nor the energy to entertain you," Hank said, using Alex's pencil to write something in his notebook, "Why don't you go find someone who does?"

"Sean's in law right now," Alex said, "Lorna's in biology, and Scott's not out of English yet."

Hank frowned.

"I thought Scott got out at three and Lorna got out at three fifteen," he said.

"They do," Alex said.

For the first time Hank looked up.

"You know, I take it back," he said, "Your brain might be melting after all."

"What?" Alex asked.

"It's four Alex," Hank said.

"What?" Alex repeated, "Nah, Hank, there's no way in hell I could've been working on these lesson plans for three hours. No way."

"I have no idea when you started, so I can't answer yes or no to that," Hank said, "But it's four right now Alex."

Alex groaned and pushed himself away from the table. He got up and stretched.

"Well shit. I've been doing these for nothing," he said.

"I wouldn't say that," Hank said, "But I advise you to get a new watch."

"Yeah yeah," Alex muttered.

He gathered his books and shoved them into his backpack. He slung it over his shoulder and walked out of the lab. He wondered where Scott or Lorna had gotten to. Scott was probably in the library: it had become the unofficial hangout of his friends. They made a cute little group. After what he'd seen Thursday he knew they made a cute little ass-kicking group too, but that was a different matter.

Alex figured he should at least walk by to make sure that Scott hadn't managed to get himself in anymore trouble. Not that he tried, but these things just seemed to happen around him. After that he had to talk to Lorna.

Some of the underclassmen had gotten it into their heads to have a dance. Alex wasn't sure just what the hell they were thinking, but the Professor had given him a look before Alex managed to say something derogatory. He was glad that they did. Saying that a dance was for pansies probably wasn't what a teacher would say, so he copied the Professor's lead and announced his intention to help plan it.

After a little bit, a thought had occurred to him. People were inviting their girlfriends to the dance. Alex had never been in a serious relationship before, but it occurred to him that dances were probably something that people did with each other. Was Lorna expecting him to ask her out? He knew by that point that she knew about the dance, and she probably had expectations.

He aimed to fill them. He knew that it was pointless to try to be the image of the perfect prince charming that he wasn't. Prince charming would probably last five minutes in most of the fights he'd been in, if that.

Still, he could try to do something special for her. He'd ask her, rather casually, and once she said yes he'd ask Moira for advice. He had no doubt that she'd say yes. She was his girl, and she wasn't going to hurt him by saying no.

He walked past the Danger Room and heard sounds of a scuffle. Sean couldn't be out of law yet, but he wondered if Lorna was getting some combat practice in with one of the training dummies. He wouldn't put it past her.

Alex looked down at what he was wearing. It was normal enough, but he found himself smoothing his hair. Even though he knew she wouldn't say no, he didn't want to show up to ask her out like he didn't care about it.

He opened the door and stopped, his mouth open.

"So, Scott, you punch with your thumb outside the fist, got it?"

"Got it Lorna," Scott said.

"Now put some emphasis into it," Lorna said.

Scott punched the training block that she was holding. Lorna laughed.

"Perfect!" she said.

Scott pulled his hand back for another punch, but he saw Alex and stopped.

"Hey Alex!" he said.

Alex's mouth went dry. Scott was grinning at him and Lorna was smiling and pulling some of the sweaty hair away from her face. Her smile faltered when she saw his expression. His brother just frowned.

"Something wrong?" Scott asked.

Yes, something was very wrong. Red lights flashed in front of his eyes. Alex wanted to scream and shout, ask Scott why the hell he suddenly wanted to learn how to fight. He wanted to jerk him upstairs and put him in the library where he could play board games with his friends. In the library Scott could do things that eleven-year-olds were supposed to do.

There was also a flicker of anger there, and it was directed at Lorna. He wanted to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing, teaching him without letting Alex know about it first. How could she have thought that this was a good idea? How dare she encourage his brother?

The moment passed, but he was still left with some of the anger. He swallowed and forced a smile. Alex wasn't the person he was before. He was in a different situation from when he was fifteen. He was in a radically different situation from when he was seventeen. He was nineteen now, almost twenty, and he was not going to react to the situation like the angry teenager he'd once been.

No matter what he thought, what he was seeing wasn't really that far-fetched or strange. He had to remember that his brother had just been involved in a fight in a very public place. The recriminations had been few: the Professor understood that they hadn't started the fight. His brother and his friends had gotten into a little trouble, but only because the Professor couldn't condone fighting. He'd taken away book rental privileges for a week from the library. The other boys had fared worse.

Alex tried to remember what Scott had been like after the fight. He hadn't talked much, but that probably meant that Scott had been thinking. While he hadn't been defenseless, he hadn't been prepared either. He'd seen his friends get involved in a fight that wasn't necessarily theirs, and he'd had to be saved by his big brother.

While Alex was sure that Scott appreciated his intervention, he remembered the times when his father would intervene in his fights when he was younger. It didn't make him angry at his father: it only made him irritated at himself that he hadn't been able to stick up for himself. Scott didn't have the same reactions as Alex did, his brother's ongoing struggle over his powers was proof of that, but this might not have been that different.

Lorna was trying to be friendly to Scott, Alex understood that. Scott was Rahne's friend and Alex's brother. She felt protective over Rahne because of Rahne's past and her close connection to Moira. All of them did really, although he knew it went a little deeper with Lorna. And Scott was his brother. It was flattering that she was trying to spend time with his family, even if it took a form that he didn't fully approve of.

Besides that, Alex couldn't afford to blow this situation. These were two of the people that he cared about most in the world. Alex had a feeling that, at this point, one wrong word from him could send Scott into tears and Lorna into anger. He'd seen enough of her temper to not want to risk it.

"Just a little surprised Scotty boy," he said, "No hitting girls, right?"

He winked at him and Scott laughed. Lorna rolled her eyes.

"I seem to remember getting hit by you a couple of times during training," she said.

"Yeah, that was training," Alex said, "But I guess this kind of counts."

He crouched down in front of Scott.

"So, you wanna learn how to fight, huh?" he asked.

"Just a little," Scott said.

One of his hands absently rubbed his stomach.

"Personally I think you did pretty good against someone four years older than you first time around," Alex said, "That's something to be proud of you know."

Scott grinned and Lorna just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, he had a little help there," she said, "Try two other kids."

"It was three on three," Alex said.

She smiled.

"I know," Lorna said, "I'm just saying that they're stronger as a unit. They all care about each other, so they fight harder."

Alex raised an eyebrow. What she was saying could just as easily apply to the X-men. She tossed her head at the gesture and threw the practice pad to the floor.

"He's putting a little too much momentum into his swing though," she said, "A few lessons and we could get someone who's ready to kick some serious ass."

"Can you teach me?" Scott said, looking at Alex, "I mean, both of you?"

Alex fought the red again. He didn't want his brother involved in the fight. However, he knew that Scott was going to get into some fights sometime. He'd already seen proof of that. Alex also knew that he couldn't be there all the time. He wasn't about to leave his little brother defenseless.

"Sure thing," Alex said, "Next time a teenager gets in your face, just give him some of this."

He waved a face, his voice far more cheerful than he felt. Scott punched the air with his hand. As he did he caught a look at his watch.

"Ohmygosh, I'm late," he said, "Warren wants to play chess upstairs."

"Chess?" Alex said.

"I suck at it, but he likes it," Scott said, "He's teaching me."

He picked up his backpack, which Alex hadn't noticed until that moment. Alex watched him as he hurried out of the room.

"He saw me in here and asked me," Lorna said, "I couldn't really say no."

Alex turned back at her, willing her to understand.

"I don't want him to get hurt," he said.

"Then encourage these lessons," Lorna said, "They'll be good for him."

Alex nodded, staring after Scott. He wished that he could be so sure. His brother was smart, and a quick learner. The image of his brother in one of the X-men uniforms flashed into his mind, and he furiously tore it down.

That wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to expose Scott to the same trash and danger that he dealt with. It was bad enough that his friends and girlfriend were in the field with him. Having his little brother there would be the last straw.

"We just need to be careful with him," Lorna said.

"Yeah," Alex said.

He turned back to her, trying to compose himself.

"So," he said, "Feel like going to the dance with me next Saturday?"

Lorna crossed her arms, her eyes lit in an amused grin.

"I thought you'd never ask."


	31. Chapter 31

"Scott, if you don't concentrate, then we're never going to get this done," Moira said.

Scott sighed and looked back down at his homework. He wished that he could have Alex help him with his homework, but Alex was in class. Afterwards he was going to go to class. There wouldn't be any time to get his homework done by Friday if he waited for his brother.

As it was, he knew that he was keeping Moira. Moira was chaperoning, but she'd already gotten dressed and ready. Scott recognized her dangling earrings. They were similar to the type that his mother used to wear when his father wore his dress uniform for something or other.

"What's the next step?" Moira asked.

He looked down at his paper. Scott blinked blankly.

"Go on," Moira said, "Tell me what you do next."

He paused, trying to remember the lesson.

"Divide," Scott said.

"That's right," Moira said, "Now, go on."

He picked up his pencil and divided. Moira frowned.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Moira said, "I just...how did you hurt your hand?"

Scott looked down. There were scraps on the back of his knuckles from where he'd been hitting the practice block.

"I was punching the practice block and I did it a little too hard," Scott said.

Moira stared at him.

"They're teaching you to fight?" she asked.

"I asked," Scott said.

His voice came out more defiant than he'd intended.

"Does Alex know?" Moira said.

"He's teaching me," Scott said, "Him and Lorna. He doesn't mind."

He scratched his head a little. He remembered his brother's face when he'd first said that he was learning how to fight. Scott had expect Alex to fight him on it, which was one of the reasons he'd gone to Lorna first. He thought that she might take it a little better and smooth his way with Alex.

Then his brother had grinned and Scott had felt foolish. Of course his brother would understand.

"Alright," Moira said.

She sounded troubled. Scott frowned and looked at his paper. Once again it was filled with smudge marks. He hated that it was like that. Warren's paper was always neat and perfect, but Scott didn't want to ask his friend for help on his homework. It just made him feel stupid.

"Now I...subtract?" he asked.

"Add," Moira said.

"That's what I meant," he said.

"Right."

Scott finished up the problem. He could see Moira going over the numbers silently.

"You've got it right Scott," she said.

He smiled and leaned back in his chair. It was finished.

"Now, are you going to the movie night that Mr. Guthrie organized for the younger kids?" she asked, "I forget what's coming on the TV, but we figured that it would balance things out nicely."

"Yeah," Scott said, "I didn't really want to go, but Ororo wanted to go, and then Rahne said that she did too..."

He shrugged and Moira nodded.

"Rahne really likes television," she said, "I think she likes it too much sometimes."

Her gaze became distant. He knew what they were both thinking. He'd been there when Rahne had seen a TV for the first time. The images had frightened her at first, but then she'd been fascinated. Although Ororo had pretended to be surprised at Rahne's actions, Scott had seen the quick look of understanding. Understanding had come then: she had never seen one before she came to the Institute either.

Scott had been nervous seeing that: the orphanage had been terrible, but he at least knew what a TV was. It made him think of how selfish he was more than he wanted to. He knew that he had a natural reaction, but it still seemed like he was spoiled sometimes.

"Either way," Moira said, "I hope that you all have fun. I know he's already down there popping up the popcorn."

Scott nodded and began to gather up his papers. He heard a noise at the front of the room and saw the Professor wheeling himself in. He smiled when he saw them.

"I see you're just taking care of a few matters," the Professor said.

His eyes softened when he looked over Moira. She smiled in return and ducked her head a little. Scott could see a light blush on her cheeks and he wondered if the Professor was thinking something to her. He supposed he wasn't supposed to hear whatever it was that he was saying.

Moira turned to Scott and handed him his last book. He put it into his backpack.

"So, do you think that you have the lesson down?" Moira asked.

"Kind of," Scott said.

"Practice it a few times," Moira said, "There are some more problems in the back of the book."

Scott nodded, although he doubted that he would actually do it. From the look Moira gave him he wondered if she knew that he wouldn't. He didn't say anything though: just shouldered his backpack and headed out of the classroom.

He looked back and saw the way that the Professor and Moira were giving each other a strange look. Although it was strange, Scott knew that he'd seen it before. Ororo's chants of "kissy kissy" were echoing through his head. He made a face to himself before walking out of the room.

"Night Professor," he said, "Night Miss Moira."

"Night."

"Goodnight Scott."

He turned a corner and started heading up towards his room. He figured that he'd ditch his backpack there before he headed downstairs to watch a movie with the rest. The look that the Professor and Moira had was starting to bug him though. Where had he seen it before?

His mind flashed back to his parents. He remembered one time when his father came home and bought his mother roses. She'd given his father that look, and he'd seen his father kiss her on the cheek. Scott could, if he tried, remember all of three times when that happened. His father hadn't been big on physical demonstrations of affection. Only his mother had hugged them when they were young.

The look still bothered him though. He was sure that he'd actually seen it happen between his parents, but he thought that there might have been something else too. Alex had told him that the Professor and Moira were in love, although Scott knew that they weren't married. It wasn't as though it was any of his business though. He'd been told once that they made each other happy, and that was good. Scott liked to see the two of them happy.

He opened the door to his room and threw his backpack in. He had yet to get a roommate, although some of the rooms were filling up fast. Alex said that it might get too crowded to keep his room to himself for much longer. Warren had told him that, instead of getting a roommate that he didn't know, they should just move in together. He didn't have a roommate yet either. While Scott didn't want a roommate, if he had to have one, then he'd prefer it to be Warren.

Scott headed out and turned down the hall.

"Son of a bitch!"

He turned at the sound of his brother's voice. Scott crept towards his brother's room and knocked on the door.

"Shit. Uh...not that...um...who is it?"

"Just me," Scott said.

"Oh, okay, you can come in."

Scott opened the door. Alex was wearing a tuxedo and trying to straighten a bow tie out.

"Damn thing," he muttered.

Scott climbed onto the bed and sat down there. Alex glanced at him.

"When you go to your first dance, remind me to help you tie a bow tie," he said, "These things are damned nuisances."

Scott shrugged. He just looked over at his brother. He'd never seen him dressed up like this. It had never even been this bad when his grandparents had come over. They'd visited about once a year before they'd died when Scott was six.

He thought again about the look he saw Moira and the Professor giving each other. A thought about where it was that he'd seen it was creeping into his mind.

"Alex, are you in love with Lorna?" Scott asked.

Alex whipped around and stared at Scott.

"What?" he asked.

"Just, uh, wondering," Scott finished, knowing his voice was lame.

Alex put his hands in his pockets.

"Scott...do you really want to have this talk right now?" he said, his voice weak.

Scott wasn't quite sure what his brother was talking about, but he did want to know.

"Yeah," Scott said.

His brother gulped.

"Um...when you...love. Okay," Alex said.

He rubbed his forehead where the cross-shaped scar was on his forehead. Alex looked highly uncomfortable and Scott wished that he hadn't asked. He couldn't very well say that though. He would just look like an idiot.

"Scott, it's kind of hard to explain," Alex said, "But the thing is, Lorna and I have a lot in common."

"I have a lot in common with Ororo," Scott said, feeling like he had to contribute, "But I don't wanna kiss her."

"Yeah, I don't think she'd like that," Alex grinned.

He swallowed.

"I'm not very poetical," Alex said, "I don't even know if I'm in love with Lorna. I mean, I like her, sure but...love is an awful big word Scott. Don't use it unless you're really ready."

"Why not?" Scott said.

His brother rubbed his scar again.

"Love is really important," he said, "People...they go crazy about them. It makes them do crazy things, risk everything, and it...it means you want to spend the rest of your life with that person."

"I'm not sure I understand," Scott said.

"I'm not sure I do either," Alex mumbled.

He took his hand off of his forehead.

"Listen," he said, "You're gonna know love when you run into it. Romantic love I mean. There are other types of love out there."

"Like family," Scott said.

Alex sat down next to him. He ruffled his hair. Even though Scott was too old for that, he let his brother do it.

"Right," Alex said, "Like family. That's special too, and you have to protect it."

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Alex called.

"Your date. Wondering why you're late."

Alex turned red and opened the door. Lorna was wearing a poofy blue dress and had her hair tied back. Scott thought that the style looked a lot like the style that Moira had her hair up in. Lorna saw him and waved.

"How's my favorite little brawler?" she asked.

"I'm not that little," Scott said.

"You're plenty little," Alex said.

Scott crossed his arms. Lorna glanced over at Alex.

"So," she said, "are we going to be late, or are we going to get going?"

"We're going to get going," Alex said.

He made a motion to Scott.

"Pushy, isn't she?" he asked.

"Shut up," Lorna said, punching him in the shoulder.

Their eyes met for a moment and then Alex waved to Scott.

"Go and have some fun watching the movie tonight," he said.

"I will," Scott said.

"See you around," Lorna said.

"See you."

Scott watched them go before sliding off his brother's bed. He closed the door and walked down the hall to the library thoughtfully. He knew for certain where he'd seen that look before now. He'd seen Alex share it with Lorna many times.


	32. Chapter 32

His mouth felt dry. Every word seemed thick and unwieldy. He could see their eyes, and all Alex wanted to do was run in hide. However, he knew that he had to keep going. He had faced worse before, hadn't he?

"-so, any questions?" Alex said.

The classroom blinked at him. A lot of them were bored, and Alex was sure that at least one of them was asleep behind their textbook. He didn't know what he could do about it though. Short of yelling.

He didn't want to start his first lesson plan off with yelling. He was twenty now, and that was too old to lose his temper at people half his age. Everything felt wrong though, like he was in someone else's skin and it didn't quite fit.

Alex was uncomfortable enough in his dress shirt and slacks. He'd spent ages searching through his wardrobe for presentable clothes. He was sure that the lesson plan that he had written had been written correctly, and that everything was correct, he still felt like a fool.

He wished that he didn't have to do practice runs like this. Then again, if he didn't practice teaching, then he doubted he would be able to do it when it came down to it. At least he wasn't teaching the older kids.

They just kept staring at him. Alex thought of the other X-men. They were off on a routine patrol mission around a few facilities they kept an eye on. They were almost always as dull as hell.

He wished he was there.

"Alright ya'll, that's history done," Mr. Guthrie said.

Mr. Guthrie clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks Alex," he said.

Alex nodded, his throat still feeling scratchy. He gathered up his papers and walked out of the room. He made it to the library before he collapsed on an armchair, moaning.

He buried his face in his hands.

"Everything alright?"

Alex continued to burry his head deeper as the Professor wheeled into the room.

"Try teaching little kids early American history," Alex said, "Professor, I don't think they give a damn about George Washington."

"I didn't either at that age," the Professor said, "Although I hope that you moderated your language a little around them."

"I'm frustrated, not stupid," Alex moaned.

The Professor chuckled and wheeled up next to him.

"It couldn't have been that bad," he said.

"They just stared at me like I was an idiot," Alex said, peeking out from behind his fingers, "I was being looked down on by people even younger than my kid brother. So yeah, it was pretty bad."

"It was your first time," the Professor said, "Try to take it easy."

Alex laughed.

"You sound like Lorna," he said, "She told me I'd do just fine, but they weren't really interested in listening to me."

"They wouldn't be, would they?" the Professor said, "They're children Alex. Most of them aren't interested in learning, and they would rather be outside. Not many children genuinely enjoy school."

"Except you," Alex said.

"What makes you think I enjoyed school?" the Professor said.

Alex gave him a bland look. The Professor sighed.

"As it so happens, I did enjoy school," the Professor said, "But that was only because it offered an escape from my home."

Alex cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable. The Professor just sighed again.

"Alex, I think that at this point in our relationship I can be honest with you about some things," the Professor said, "I see no reason to hold things back, especially when it might help you in your studies."

There was a pause where Alex tried to figure out just what the Professor was talking about. He gave up.

"What?" he asked.

"You want to be a teacher here, correct?" the Professor said.

"Yeah," Alex said.

"As much as it pains me, a lot of the children here are going to be damaged," the Professor said, "They will come to you in pain, hurting from a world that does not yet understand them. Even those of them with parents who love them don't fully understand what their child is going through. Teaching their children how to hide their powers might be the most merciful thing that they have experienced."

Alex fully removed his hands, listening.

"Some of these children have never tasted acceptance or freedom," the Professor said, "Think about that. To them, the school is a powerful siren, calling them both to and away from their studies. It's going to be difficult to fight that fight in the classroom."

"What do you suggest I do?" Alex said.

"Just take it one step at a time," the Professor said, "Learn what keeps them interested. Think about them, the children that you know here, and use them as your model."

He closed his eyes.

"Sometimes I think of Rahne, and I wonder about all of the pain she had to go through before she came here," the Professor said, "She still...even with Moira tucking her in at night, she's still so frightened sometimes."

Alex nodded. He remembered when Rahne had run to him to tell him about the fight that Scott and his friends had gotten in. At first she'd looked like she was ready to cry or faint, possibly both. She'd opened her mouth in mute fear before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the lobby.

"I worry about her Alex," the Professor said, "As I worry about all of my students. But Rahne-"

"Rahne's Moira's daughter," Alex said.

The Professor nodded.

"And she might be yours one day," he said.

The Professor opened his eyes and looked at Alex. Alex didn't look away.

"It's not like it isn't a possibility," he said.

"No, you're right," the Professor said.

He ran a hand through his hair.

"I have very peculiar feelings about stepfathers Alex," he said, "My own stepfather was not...he was not a man that I would leave a dog with to take care of, let alone a child."

The Professor shook his head.

"Never mind," he said, "It's unimportant."

"No," Alex said, "I..."

He fiddled with the sleeves of his dress shirt.

"I um, I had some pretty bad people taking care of me in the system," he said, "But the only time I really wanted to beat the shit out of someone was when I saw Mr. Windsor. And then, when I thought about all the years that Scott had been under him, it just made my blood boil. The last thing I'd want to be is associated with a man like him."

Feeling uncertain, he shrugged.

"And now I'm going to be a caretaker," he said, "It's not exactly the same thing, but sometimes it feels strange."

The Professor looked at him for a few seconds.

"My stepfather was gone by the time Raven came," he said, "And I'm glad. But...until then..."

He tapped the armrest of his wheelchair.

"I don't have a very positive image of stepfathers," the Professor said, "And I never thought that I would be one. I never..."

He turned away.

"I never wanted to be one," he said.

"But now?" Alex asked.

The Professor smiled, although the expression was strange.

"Well, the woman in question is Moira," the Professor said, "And the child in question is Rahne. I think that I'll be fine."

Alex grinned. He got up and stretched.

"I'll think about your advice after I finish a few rounds in the Danger Room," he said, "All that talk about the American Revolution makes me want to exercise my right to bear arms."

The Professor smiled and Alex left. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he strolled down to the Danger Room. He knew that he would have to create a new lesson plan for the next week. He'd have to ask Scott about some of the kids in that class: his brother might have some insights.

He might not be able to know his class personally every time, but he could work on getting to know them. Teaching was only part making the lesson plans: the other part was being personable. He'd heard that from his teachers before. He just hadn't taken it seriously before then.

Then again, he might not have to ask Scott after all. A lot of his students were Scott's age. Many of them were damaged and scared, their feelings and curiosity boiling over for their new life. They were just like Scott had been when he first came to the Institute.

He nodded to himself. His students were like Scott. There were some differences, obvious, but they were all a little scared and a little out of their element. They were all probably scared of their powers to some extent or another. Scott was still scared of his powers, but he was much more comfortable with his environment. Alex had overseen that. There were lessons there, he was sure of it.

Not only that, but thinking of his students as though they were his brother would help him care about them. Right now many of them were nameless children that made him feel like he didn't belong there. They were children who didn't care that he was there, and that made it a little difficult for him to work with them. If he just thought of them like his brother when he was going through a mood, then that would be better.

He nodded to himself again. Now he at least had a starting point to go from. He began whistling as he walked down the hall, eager to get out of his dress shirt and black slacks. Then he could really relax.

Alex walked past the Danger Room, but heard a noise in the garage. He frowned and began to walk in that direction.

"Get away from me!"

Hank almost knocked Alex down when he flung open the door. Alex stared at him, and he could see anguish in his friend's eyes. It was a deep despair, a kind of despair that Alex was too familiar with.

He was about to shove Alex out of the way, but Alex caught his arm.

"Hank," he said, "It's alright."

Hank took a shuddering breath. Lorna and Sean hurried into the room behind him. They both looked shell-shocked, and Alex glanced over at Lorna. Her lips tightened into a straight line, and Alex could see the fear and anguish on her face.

Alex looked back at Hank. For the first time Alex could see the blood stuck in Hank's blue fur. His heart sank: he'd suspected as much.

"I know what you're feeling," Alex said, "And it's okay Hank. It's okay."

Hank's harsh breaths increased.

"It was a soldier at a lab Alex," he whispered, "He wouldn't move. He kept shooting at us...I couldn't...he was in my grip and he twisted...I felt..."

He tried to pull away, but Alex's grip tightened.

"I know," he said, "I know...don't make yourself go through this alone."

Hank took another breath before collapsing to the floor. Alex put his hands around his friend's shoulders, cursing the people who wouldn't stop, that the fight had to end in death, that Hank was feeling what he had felt over Azazel's death.

He knew Lorna and Sean were watching, and he felt like screaming. They would go through this one day too. He held his friend tighter. It was them or the other people, and it had to be the other people. They deserved to go home, back to the people that cared about them. He had to keep telling himself that.

"I know," Alex said, "I know."


	33. Chapter 33

Sometimes Scott wondered if there were things that his brother wasn't telling him. He knew that there were obvious things, such as just what the missions the X-men went on were. Alex didn't like to talk to him about those sorts of things, and Scott had never seen any reason to force him. They weren't important anyway.

Sometimes though, he got the feeling that he should be told things. He felt that he should be told why Hank had shut himself up into his lab for hours, never allowing anyone in. Scott had been puzzled, and a little scared. Hank was always so peaceful and Scott had enjoyed hanging out with him.

He'd crept up to Hank's lab one day, wondering if he could come in. He'd overheard a conversation between his brother and Hank.

"The Professor is worried," Alex said, "I'm worried too. You can talk to me. I know what you're going through."

There had been a long pause.

"Alex..." he said, "I'm a doctor. I've always helped people. And when we're out there...people heal. I've always known that, no matter what I did, people could heal. Broken bones, bruises, cuts, those can heal. This..."

Hank's voice hitched.

"It's different Alex."

There was another pause.

"You can still talk to me," Alex said.

"I know," Hank said, "But...right now I need some time."

"Alright," Alex said, "And when you're ready, I'm gonna be here."

Scott had walked away. He hadn't looked back and Scott had filed it away in his head. He'd started watching all of them closely. The rest of the X-men seemed quiet, and even Lorna seemed a little more withdrawn. He'd asked Sean about it.

"It's nothing Scott," Sean had said, "Nothing."

"You always say that to me," Scott had answered, "All of you always say that to me, and something's always wrong."

Sean had laughed and crouched down. He'd grinned, even though his eyes were a little troubled.

"It's not," Sean had said, "Did your brother tell you something was wrong?"

"No," Scott had said.

"Then listen to your brother."

"But something's wrong!" Scott had argued.

Sean had just gotten up, still smiling.

"Scott, do you trust me?" he'd asked.

"Yeah..."

"Then you can have my personal assurance that nothing's wrong," Sean had said.

Scott didn't believe him. He wanted to ask his brother, he really did. He had just turned twelve years old, and yet again he wished that the fears that he had felt when he was younger would go away. However, he found himself just as shy about asking his brother about things that he should have gotten over.

Time had passed and things had seemed to calm down. Hank began coming out of the lab more, and Scott had decided not to ask about it. Things had resolved, and it wasn't something that he was worried about anymore. Scott let the incident go and concentrated on his school work and played with his friends.

A few months went by. Ororo's birthday was coming up, and Scott had decided on what he was going to get her. He only had about three dollars, and he figured that she should get her something that she could use. There was a pair of hair barrettes she liked in the nearby town, but they were four dollars. Scott wanted to ask him if he could borrow a dollar from Alex.

He hurried down to the garage. It was late at night, but he wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of. Alex wasn't anywhere on the first floor, and he wasn't in his room, so if he was at the Institute then he was in the garage. There was a field trip to the town the next day, and he wanted to make sure that he was able to get it then. He didn't have much time, and he needed to get it soon.

Scott had long ago figured out how to get into the garage, even if the door was locked. He'd seen Alex unjam it one day when he'd forgotten the key. He hadn't known Scott was there, but Scott figured that he didn't need to tell him that he knew.

He arrived just in time to see the car drive up. As soon as the car pulled in Sean bolted out of the door, running away from the car as fast as he could. He knocked over Scott as he ran. They both tumbled to the floor.

Scott pushed away, shocked and irritated. As he did he touched Sean's arm, and something cold and thick came off. Scott blinked at him and Sean stared at him in horror. Scott looked down at his hand and saw blood on it.

Sean had shoved him away and continued running.

"Sean!" Alex had yelled.

Sean stopped at the door. He put both of his hands on either side of the doorframe, his eyes manic and wild. Alex walked over and helped Scott up. Scott saw something in his brother's eyes that scared him. Instead of his brother, he saw something made of iron and steel. He handed Scott a cloth, patted him on the shoulder, and walked up to Sean.

His brother put his hands on Sean's shoulders. Almost absently Scott began to wipe the blood off his hands with the cloth.

"Whether or not you believe it, you did good tonight," Alex said, "You made the same decision that I did."

Sean turned and looked at him, his eyes empty and anguished.

"Do you regret it?" he asked, his voice pleading.

"Not for a damn minute," Alex said.

Sean took a deep breath before dissolving into sobs. Alex grabbed Sean's arm and looped it over his shoulder.

"Lorna?" he asked, "Could you take Scott up to his room?"

Scott felt Lorna's hands on his shoulders. Scott looked up and Lorna looked at him. Her eyes were watery and she looked frightened. She smiled, but it was forced and uncomfortable. Scott shrank down as she led him upstairs to his room.

She opened the door and gave him a small pat on the shoulder. She turned to go, but Scott grabbed her hand.

"Lorna?" he asked, his voice quiet, "What's happening?"

She bit her lip and turned around.

"Your father was a soldier, right?" she asked.

Scott nodded.

"Then you know that...sometimes things happen," Lorna said, "But...if your cause is...if you're..."

Her voice trailed off and she swallowed.

"Scott, sometimes we have to give up things we care about when we're fighting for the right thing," she said, "And, sometimes, they're not the things you think you'd have to give up."

She bowed her head.

"Tonight was one of those nights."

Scott felt tears in his eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt like he wanted to curl up somewhere safe and cry.

"Can you...can you tell my brother I want to talk to him?" Scott asked.

Lorna nodded and walked out of his room. She shut the door behind her and Scott stared at it, feeling hopeless.

* * *

Alex closed the door to Sean's room and closed his eyes. The Professor was in there with his friend, and he hoped that he'd be able to help him. He felt exhausted, like his heart was breaking. All three of the original X-men had taken a life. Alex could feel the pressure bearing down on him, the realization that the war was escalating.

"Alex?"

He leaned back against the wall.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Your brother is looking for you," Lorna said.

He opened his eyes. Lorna was looking at him, shell-shock still evident on her face. Alex could sympathize. He was sure that they hadn't really thought that that would happen when Sean reached that octave. At first Alex had thought that it had been accident, that Sean hadn't known that that had happened.

Then he'd seen the expression on Sean's face, the triumphant horror. Once again, someone had made the same decision he had. It was the only way that Sean had seen to escape the situation they were in, the only way to protect them all.

This time there had been three people killed though. Alex wasn't sure just what was going on in that lab, but three mutants had disappeared. They had found their remains while escaping. He had the feeling that they were on to something big, and he didn't like the way that sounded in his head.

Now Scott had seen. It was time to tell his brother the other side to his duty, the pain that they were forced to go through to protect his future. He rubbed his temples and then looked back at Lorna.

Once he got a good look at her, he frowned. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She bit her lip.

"How long until it's me?" she asked.

"What?" Alex said.

"How long until I'm the one that kills someone?" Lorna asked.

He reached out and touched her face.

"Lorna..." he said.

"I know Sean did the right thing. I know he didn't have a choice," Lorna said, "And I know you and Hank didn't have a choice either. But..."

Her teeth drew blood.

"How long until that choice is taken from me?" she asked, "Or if one of us don't make that choice quickly enough?"

"Lorna-" Alex tried.

"Alex," Lorna interrupted.

She looked up at him, her look desperate.

"Don't look at me different after I've drawn blood," she said, "Please."

Alex reached out and pulled her close to him. He let some of the tears he'd been holding in out. He could feel Lorna's silent tears, and held her tighter.

"I won't," he said, "I won't."

For a moment he just held her. Alex wanted to remember this moment in time, a moment where they could both be what they were: scared children on the cusp of adulthood trying to make sense of their lives.

He buried his head in Lorna's hair. He wasn't a student with her, or a teacher-in-training. He wasn't a friend, a leader, a teammate, a mutant, or an older brother. He didn't have to be anyone at all when he was with her.

Reluctantly he let her go.

"I have to go see Scott," he whispered.

"I know," Lorna said.

He kissed her on the forehead before pulling away. He walked down the hall and up the stairs. For a moment Alex stood outside of his brother's room, trying to collect himself. Alex did his best before knocking on his door.

Scott opened it immediately. His eyes were wide and scared. Alex walked in and made sure the door was closed. He sat down on Scott's bed and motioned for his brother to sit by them. Alex clasped his hands in front of him and bowed his head.

"Scott, I'm sorry you had to see that tonight," he said.

"What was it?" Scott asked.

Alex clenched his hands tighter. It was too late to protect his brother from this.

"You're smart Scott," he said, "And I know you know what happens in a war."

Scott's eyes widened and Alex wanted to scream out. He felt trapped.

"Tonight Sean was cornered and forced to use his powers to defend himself and his team," he said, "He did well but...there are three dead guards somewhere."

He heard his brother gasp. Silence descended on the two of them and Alex wanted to be gone. He wanted to be asleep, ignoring the world outside of his room. It would be better in the morning. It needed to be.

"You told him he did well," Scott said.

"Yes."

"That you'd made the same choice," Scott said.

Alex bit his cheek.

"Yes."

There was another long pause.

"Alex, have you ever killed anyone?"

_"Dad, have you ever killed anyone?"_

"Yes."

It was the single hardest word that Alex had ever had to say. He looked over at Scott, who was crying. Alex didn't say anything: just reached out and held his brother.


	34. Chapter 34

Three more months passed. Alex watched as the tense, terrible guilt on Sean's face faded. Hank's personal guilt had faded in the face of having to support his friend. It was three months before Alex could wake up without anxiety over what the next day would bring.

Scott's reaction had been a little harder. His brother had seemed frightened to let Alex out of his eyesight for the next few days, and Alex had seen the way that Scott had glared at the Professor, like his brother's condition as a killer was his fault.

The idea was laughable, and it made Alex angry. The Professor had been the one to tell Magneto no when he'd first suggested using them in their war against Shaw. The only reason he wanted them to continue fighting was because there was no one else who could wage this war.

After Scott had pointedly ignored the Professor for a few days Alex had taken him aside.

"Scott," he said, "I made the same choice that dad did when he was fighting the Nazis."

Scott had shaken his head.

"You're younger than he was," he said.

"Dad was only twenty-two," Alex said, his voice more confident than he felt, "It wasn't that much of an age difference."

Scott had looked up at him, and his voice had caught when he spoke.

"What if you're the one that dies though?"

Alex had bitten his cheek, overcome. How could that be the only thing that his brother cared about? How could he possibly be that important to someone that they would completely ignore that he'd killed someone?

He couldn't promise him he'd come back though: Scott was too old to be put off with such empty promises.

"When I'm out there," Alex said, "I'm always thinking of you, that I have to get back to you."

It was all he could say. It wasn't enough, but Scott had accepted it. His frigid demeanor towards the Professor had softened some, and Alex was glad. He doubted that Scott knew the true value of the Professor's friendship, how much it meant to Alex. He hoped that, one day, Scott would see the Professor as he did. Life as a mutant was difficult enough without having no one to guide you.

Afterwards he'd had to talk to the Professor. It was more of a debriefing than a heart-to-heart. They had skirted around the current mental conditions of the X-men and instead pushed onto the questions of what they were going to do next.

There were still questions. The lab that they had uncovered had been, at best, terrifying. What had all of those things been? They'd been unable to get good looks at everything in there: there had been a lot of soldiers. Torching the place as they left had been the best that they could do.

With what little information they had Moira had been able to trace the lab as being a part of Essex Industries. It was a small company that supposedly manufactured pharmaceuticals. More digging had revealed that it was a privately owned corporation with three locations. They had destroyed one.

They had doubled up their patrols on that particular hotspot. They'd had to divert time from checking up on Kelly, but Alex wasn't worried about them anymore. Not with what they had found.

They had launched one more raid of a lab. They'd managed to free two young mutants from the confines of the lab before anything was done to them. Neither had been receptive to the idea of a school, and both had families to go back to. Alex had let them go, giving them his card. He couldn't believe that he had a card now.

The rest of the lab hadn't been quite so straightforward. They had plunged in and taken down anyone and everything that they could. The rest they had burned. Most of the files were in code though. Moira was still working on decrypting the different research they had taken.

Alex knew that everyone would breathe easier when they got rid of the final lab. He was looking forward to it, to the idea of possibly finding whoever was responsible for this and ripping them apart.

The last lab had less soldiers. Alex figured that it was truly a small agency, although he was sure that they would give the data a thorough sifting. There was no way that they were going to let something like this go.

Two soldiers opened fire at him. Red light pulsed through him, but a second later their guns flew out of their hands before knocking them in the heads. He nodded at Lorna before the two of them pushed into the final room.

The smell was overpowering. Alex had to fight the urge to gag. There was one corpse in the room. It appeared that, when they had finished with whoever it had been, they had just tossed them in there to decompose.

Lorna pointed to the corner. There was a small form huddled there. Alex took a step forward and the child cried out, burying her hands in her hair. Her pink hands, in her pink hair. Alex felt his throat go dry.

"Hey," he said.

The girl whimpered.

"Is it my turn now?" she whispered.

Alex saw her eyes flicker over to the corpse. He shook his head.

"No, we're here to help you," he said.

The girl gave him a fixed look.

"No one does that," she said.

"We're like you," he said.

"Prisoners?"

"No," Alex said, "Mutants. And we're going to get you out of here."

The girl hesitated, looking between him and the corpse. Alex looked at Lorna. He didn't know if more guards were coming. They needed to get out of there and then blow the place to pieces. Sean and Hank were setting the timers even as they spoke.

"You're telling the truth?" she asked.

"Yes," Lorna said, her voice gentle, "We'll take you somewhere that mutants like us are safe."

The girl shook her head and pulled herself even further into the wall.

"There isn't any place like that," she said.

Frustration mounted in him, and he forced it back. It wasn't going to get him anywhere. Alex, knowing what a risk it was, took another step forward.

"My name's Alex," he said, "I have a little brother named Scott. He's about your age. Do you have any siblings?"

The girl shook her head.

"I love him," Alex said, "He's the most important person in my life. And the last thing I would want is for him to get hurt."

He crouched down so that he was eye-level with the girl.

"And when I found out he was a mutant like me, I took him to this place," Alex said.

The girl's green eyes blinked once. She began to get to her feet, but her gait was unsteady. She began to fall and Alex had to move quickly to stop her. He picked her up. The girl was light enough.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"No problem kid," Alex said.

He smiled as they ran out of the room.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The girl looked down at her hands.

"Clarice."

* * *

Scott pulled himself onto one of the garage countertops and waited. He knew that his brother didn't like it when he waited for him there, but the Professor had given him permission. He supposed that he had already seen everything that the Professor and his brother didn't want him to see.

His legs swung over the side absently. In a few days he would turn thirteen. It was weird to think that he would be a teenager, that he would be old. It was four years since he'd come to the Institute, and so much had changed.

He was still scared about his mutation. Scott was sure that he would be frightened of it until the day he died. He didn't care what the Professor said: the Professor couldn't destroy things just by looking at them.

However, he had friends. That was something. He also had Alex again. His brother had become a fighter, a killer, a soldier in a war that Scott still didn't fully understand. The title of 'soldier' wasn't one that belonged on his brother, but it wasn't one that mattered. No matter what being in the X-men was doing to his brother, he was glad that he had him back. It was all worth it if he had Alex.

The door to the garage opened. Moira walked in and leaned on the counter top next to him. Scott's saw that she was carrying what looked like a blanket.

"Tonight they destroyed the last lab from Essex Industries. They're bringing someone back with them," Moira explained, "I think it's cold out there, and this will be a good way to show her how we do things here."

She smiled at his confused expression.

"Soft, safe, warm, comfortable," Moira said.

Scott nodded. The Institute, if not its extracurricular activities, was safe. He supposed that he looked skeptical, because Moira frowned.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I'm just worried about Alex," Scott said.

"That's rather silly."

He inclined his head towards Moira, although he wasn't sure what she'd said.

"I think that it's time for you to know what a remarkable man your brother is," Moira said, "He's strong Scott, stronger than you or I really know. He has such a burden on his shoulders."

"One that the Professor put there," Scott said.

His words were more instinctive than anything: most of his anger at the Professor had begun to drain away. At the last minute he remembered just who he was talking to. It was unlikely that she was going to agree with him. It was more likely that she was going to get very angry. Instead of getting angry though, she just shook her head.

"No, no he didn't. The burden that your brother carries is one that your brother chose Scott," Moira said, "It has nothing to do with the Professor. He was asked if he wanted to take it on, with neither party really knowing what that meant. He took it anyway though, and he's refused to set it down."

She unfolded the blanket.

"That's part of the reason why he's so amazing," Moira said, "He made the choice to carry it and, now that he's seen the pitfalls that come with it, he's made that choice again."

Scott didn't know how to reply. The garage door opened though, and the car pulled in. Lorna got up and nodded at Moira before opening the car's back door. Alex stepped out, carrying a small pink child. Bright pink hair obscured most of her face.

The girl was awake, but she looked exhausted. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and Alex was holding her close. Moira was right: it was cold out. She stepped forwards and covered her with the blanket. The girl immediately clasped her hands around it and pulled it around her. She looked at Moira with wide, suspicious eyes.

Alex caught sight of Scott and grinned. The girl's gaze followed his.

"Is that your brother?" she asked.

"Yep," Alex said, sounding triumphant, "But we'll have some time for introductions later."

He winked at Alex before carrying the girl out of the room. Scott watched him. It seemed to him that his brother wasn't just his brother anymore in that moment. It seemed like he was an adult, someone ready to face the world and go down fighting.

It was a quality that he doubted that he would ever possess.


	35. Chapter 35

Clarice was difficult to figure out. Moira had seen many children come into the Institute, their eyes wide with uncertainty or fear. So many of them had come from homes that feared them, homes where the best their parents could offer them was secrecy. There were others with worse lives. She had never forgotten Rahne clinging to her, her eyes pleading with her to love her.

Clarice was different. The girl was cold, unreachable. She wasn't aloof or arrogant: she just didn't seem to care. Scott had offered her his friendship and Clarice had walked away, uninterested. She had simply stared at Ororo when she'd done the same thing.

Moira had thought that the girl wanted some space, so she had tried to give it to her. Rahne hadn't understood. She was Clarice's cheerful shadow, peppering her with questions and trying to get her to play outside. Although Rahne was quiet on the matter, Moira knew that it hurt that Clarice was ignoring her.

They still didn't know what it was that had happened to her in the labs, although Hank's physical had revealed that, whatever had happened, it wasn't extensive. All of her limbs were intact and she was suffering only mild nerve damage. There wasn't a mark on her.

She had, in no uncertain terms, let them no that there was no one looking for her. Her voice had been matter-of-fact and bored when she told them that her parents were dead. Moira had expressed her sympathy, and Clarice had shrugged.

It wasn't as though she were angry or resentful of them. Clarice wasn't grateful either, didn't want to talk to them, didn't want to know more about the people who had rescued her. She wasn't disobedient or defensive. She went to her classes and listened to lectures. Clarice did well in her school work. She didn't shut herself up in her room or avoid company. Clarice just wasn't interested in it.

The girl's overall apathy frightened Moira. There were no emotions there, almost as though she didn't dare show any. She wasn't afraid, didn't see anything as interesting or amazing. It was almost as though she were merely going through the motions of life.

She'd discussed the problem with Charles. While he kept himself busy for most of the day, he'd make time for her. Broaching the subject had been easier than she'd expected. He'd been worried about Clarice too, although he urged delicacy. He cited her youth, although Moira noted that she was only a year younger than Scott.

"I don't claim to know everything about mutants, or people for that matter Moira," Charles said, "And I won't go into her mind uninvited. That would just do more harm then good, since I doubt she really trusts us yet. But...I think that she doesn't quite understand that she's safe."

"Why not?" Moira said.

"From what I've seen of her, she's still very defensive," Charles said, "Horrible things have happened to her, and whatever walls she had to build to survive them are still up. Her experiences have left her confused. I'm not sure she knows what safe is, and part of me worries that she thinks that this is the abnormal thing, this peace."

Moira closed her eyes.

"If that's true, then it's terrible," she said, "If she doesn't know what safety and peace are, then how are we supposed to help her?"

"She just...I think that she's waiting for some sort of sign."

"What sign?" Moira asked, "We've never run into this before."

"I wouldn't say that. Rahne didn't think it was safe for a while."

"That's not the same thing," Moira said, "She didn't think it was safe to be apart from me. She at least...she knew that there was such a thing as safety."

"Yes, you. You were the one she went to Moira."

"That doesn't-"

She felt his hand on hers. She opened her eyes as he brought it to her lips.

"Moira, Clarice needs time, just as Rahne needed time," he said.

"I know," Moira said quietly, "I just wish I could help her."

"I know," Charles said.

His eyes met hers. Moira found herself sighing and he drew circles on the back of her hand. Sometimes she wondered how, despite everything, she had been so fortunate. The man she loved understood and listened to her, and there was a beautiful child who called her mother. Moira had often wondered how she had made it so far without them.

It was funny in a way. Charles had once told her that he wondered how he'd made it so far without her. She found herself lacing her fingers with his more, a small sign that she wasn't going to let him go.

There was a knock on the door. Charles released Moira's hand. Public displays of affection weren't appropriate around children.

"Come in!" he said.

Rahne peeped around the door. She saw Moira and grinned.

"I thought I smelt you mama!" she said, "I was just looking for you."

"Why?" Moira asked.

"I wanted to show you something," Rahne said.

Moira exchanged a glance with Charles. He smiled at her and she inclined her head. Rahne always wanted to show her something.

"Alright," she said.

She waved to Charles and Rahne took her other hand. She all but pulled Moira downstairs into the library. Scott and his friends were conspicuously absent, but Rahne pulled her over to the sofa where her backpack was resting.

She let go of Moira's hand and began rummaging through it. Rahne pulled out a piece of paper in triumph.

"Got it!" she said.

She handed the paper to Moira, her eyes glowing as she hopped from foot to foot. Moira saw neat cursive writing filling the page. In the corner an 'A' had been written in in red marker. She smiled and Rahne smiled back.

"This is amazing Rahne," Moira said, "You're doing so well."

"Thank you," Rahne said, her voice shy, "I wanted to do well so I could show you."

Moira leaned over and kissed Rahne on the forehead.

"You always do well," she said.

Rahne smiled up at her and the door opened. Clarice walked in. She glanced at them for a moment before pulling a book from the shelves.

"Hey Clarice!" Rahne said.

Clarice didn't say anything. She turned and walked out of the room. Rahne watched her go.

"She doesn't like me," Rahne said.

"No, honey, that's not it," Moira said.

Rahne looked at Moira, her eyes wide.

"If she doesn't like me, then why doesn't she say hi?" Rahne said, "There are some mean kids that don't like me, but they look at me sometimes, and they say hi."

"Who's mean?" Moira said, her voice sharp.

Rahne blinked.

"No one really," she said, "Not after Scott told 'em he'd pummel 'em if they were. And then Alex came and he said that he'd help and-"

"Uh huh," Moira said.

Rahne swallowed, looking nervous.

"But she won't say hi to me," Rahne said.

Moira filed away her daughter's comment for another time. She didn't approve of fighting, but she was going to find out just who had irritated Scott enough that he'd threatened to call in Alex. He didn't do that lightly.

"Rahne," Moira said, "You're a very kind girl. But you know that there are some people in this world that aren't kind."

Rahne nodded, her eyes still wide.

"So you know that there are people out there who hurt others," Moira said, "Clarice was hurt. We still don't know how much."

Her daughter looked at the floor.

"Like me?" Rahne asked.

A lump formed in Moira's throat.

"I'm not sure," she said, "People took her and locked her away for a long time. I think that Clarice is a little scared right now. She needs time to figure everything out before she puts down too many ties. She just doesn't want to talk to people right now."

Rahne nodded, still looking at the floor. Suddenly, her face lit up.

"Thanks mama," she said.

There was a glint in Rahne's eye that Moira didn't trust. It reminded her too much of Scott when he'd figured out another way to get into the garage.

"What are you thinking?" Moira asked.

"How to help Clarice!" Rahne said.

Moira reached out, wondering about how she could explain so that Rahne would understand that Clarice needed to be left alone. Instead of standing still, Rahne took off. Moira's heart leapt into her mouth. Surely she wasn't going to go after her now?

Appearances suggested that she was though. Moira hurried after her. Rahne was fast though, and a class had just let out. Moira struggled through the crowds, looking for a hint of her daughter.

She didn't know what Clarice would do if Rahne continued to annoy her. Moira didn't think that Clarice would hurt her, but she would most likely say something. Rahne was sensitive, and Moira could see her bursting into tears if Clarice was cruel.

Moira thought she saw the purple of her daughter's dress near the study. The halls had cleared, and Moira was able to get closer. She arrived in the doorway and saw that Clarice and Rahne were on the far side of the room.

"What do you want?" Clarice asked.

Rahne looked at her for a minute. Moira was about to call out to her, but Rahne flung her arms around Clarice. Clarice stared straight ahead, shocked. Moira stared too, uncertain about what was happening.

"I know it hurts," Rahne whispered, "People hurt me too."

Moira felt her heart beat faster.

"Every day," Rahne said, "I asked God if he'd help. If he'd do something. And then I was running, and all these people wanted to kill me. And I thought that they were going to."

Rahne's words seemed to trail together.

"And I told myself that it wouldn't hurt anymore when I was gone, but I didn't want to go," she said, "And I kept asking him to take me somewhere safe, and he took me here."

Rahne hugged Clarice tighter.

"So don't give up," she murmured, "And it's okay if you don't want to talk or be friends right now, if you're not ready. When you're ready, just tell me."

Moira felt the world slow. Her daughter's words had been heartfelt, but not pained. She had known that Rahne was deeply religious, almost to the point where it was strange. She was still so young. However, it was obvious that God had been the only friend that Rahne had been able to count on in her life.

She hadn't known that Rahne was willing to share her story with a complete stranger. Her heart swelled with pride at her daughter's actions. Time was passing though, and it appeared that Clarice wasn't going to do anything. Rahne was still holding onto Clarice, and Clarice was still staring ahead.

Moira began to inch forward when it happened. Clarice took in a harsh breath and her face scrunched up. A moment later she let out a wail and threw her arms around Rahne. Moira watched in shock as the impassive girl of the past month melted into a scared, weeping child.

Clarice sank to her knees. Rahne did the same, her own eyes dry. She looked over at Moira and smiled a little. Moira nodded to her.

"You always do well," she whispered.

Despite Clarice's tears, the look on Rahne's face told Moira that she'd heard.


	36. Chapter 36

"Are you done yet?"

Sean rolled his eyes.

"Lorna, tell your boyfriend to stop bothering me," he said.

"Alex, stop being a pain," Lorna said, not looking away from the recipe for frosting.

"We're getting impatient," Alex said.

He looked down at his brother.

"Aren't we Scott?"

Scott nodded and sighed. He looked at his watch. He wanted to get back to the games, but not if he was going to miss this. Ororo was turning fourteen and Lorna and Sean had volunteered to make the cake. It was going to be chocolate.

That meant that there was going to be batter. If there was one thing that Scott loved more than cake, it was the batter.

"You're taking forever," Alex groaned.

"Shut up!" Sean said, "If you're impatient, why don't you help Moira clean up the library? There's probably still wrapping paper everywhere."

"I prefer this."

He finished pouring the last of the cake batter into one of the pans. He tossed the bowl, the spoon still inside, to Alex. Alex caught it in one smooth motion.

"Happy?" Sean asked.

"Incredibly," Alex said.

Alex looked down at Scott again.

"What's say you and I have some cake batter Scotty boy?" he asked.

"I'm kind of old for that nickname," Scott said.

Alex gave him a fixed look.

"I don't care if you're three hundred," Alex said, "You're still going to be Scotty boy. Now, do you want the cake batter or not."

"You're going to get salmonella," Lorna said.

"And we'll enjoy every minute of it," Alex said.

He put his hand on Scott's shoulder and steered him towards the kitchen table. He could hear a cheer from the other room, but he'd be able to get back to the games in a minute. Alex pulled out a spoon from one of the cupboards and handed it to Scott.

"When there's not enough for a spoonful, just use your hands," Alex said.

"You're teaching him bad habits!" Lorna called.

"Yes I am!" Alex called back.

"I'm thirteen," Scott said, "Any bad habits I have are pretty much already ingrained."

"Yeah, what he said," Alex said.

His brother took the spoon from inside the bowl and, after scooping some of the batter up, put it in his mouth. Scott did the same thing. The lukewarm gooiness made him smile. He slurped it down and reached for some more.

Alex and he ate in silence until the bowl was pretty much clean. Chocolate cake batter never lasted long enough. Scott ran his finger along the inside and looked up. Alex had some chocolate on the tip of his nose and Scott laughed.

"What?" Alex asked.

"You have some on your nose," Scott said.

"Okay," Alex said.

He wiped his hand across his face, smearing the chocolate onto his cheek.

"Now it's on your cheek," Scott said.

"Damn, can't win, can I?"

Lorna walked in, a napkin in hand. She shook her head before wiping Alex's face. She gave him a look of mock-disgust.

"Havok. More like Pigman," she said.

"I resemble that remark," Alex said.

She smiled and walked back to the other side of the kitchen. Scott cocked his head and Alex frowned.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," Scott said.

"No, what is it?"

He debated telling Alex that he was happier than he'd been in a long time, that he could see that Alex was happier too. He wondered if he should tell him that, despite all the months when a perpetual fog had hung over them, life seemed good again.

Scott decided to say something else instead.

"You just had to have your girlfriend clean you up," Scott said, "You are a mess."

"Right, and you're Mr. Clean," Alex scoffed.

Scott got out of his chair.

"I'm gonna go see if the games are still going on," he said, already starting for the door.

"Right, don't get yourself hurt, don't hurt anyone else, and remind everyone not to use their powers inside the house!" Alex yelled.

Scott waved and walked into the next room. Immediately he became a little lost. When he'd left they'd been playing Twister. Scott honestly couldn't see the appeal of it, but it had been one of Ororo's gifts and she'd been excited to give it a try.

Now he had no idea what they were playing. Rahne had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and was laughing. Ororo jumped over the couch and grabbed at her. She missed her, but managed to grab the blanket. Rahne stumbled backwards and Ororo used the opportunity to get a better grip on her.

Despite Rahne's age she was still small and light. Ororo knew this, and grinned as she picked her up. Ororo twirled her around.

"I've gotcha!" she said.

Rahne squealed just as Warren and Clarice came around the corner.

"How'd you get her first?" Warren asked.

"It's my birthday," Ororo said, "And the cape made it easy."

"The rules say I have to wear the cape," Rahne complained as Ororo let her down.

"What rules?" Scott asked.

"The ones we're making up," Ororo said, brushing some of her hair off her shoulder.

"I hate this stupid cape," Rahne said.

"Hey, don't knock it," Ororo said.

She untied the blanket from Rahne's shoulders and tied it over her own.

"I think that I look rather heroic in it," she said, posing.

"I think it gets in the way," Warren said.

"Of course it would for you: you've got wings," Ororo said, flipping the cape over her shoulder, "But for those of us who don't, it adds a sense of drama."

"You're right about that," Lorna said, walking into the room, "And before you ask, the cake still needs some time."

"How much?" Ororo asked.

"About ten minutes," Lorna said, "Just figured I'd tell you."

Lorna tilted her head.

"You know, the cape isn't a bad idea," she said, "I should get one of my own."

"Well you can't have mine," Ororo said.

Lorna smiled.

"Hey, Lorna, your boyfriend's trying to eat the icing!"

She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Coming!" she yelled back.

Lorna waved once before ducking back into the kitchen. Scott looked back at Ororo.

"Let me get this straight," he said, "You just have to catch the one in the cape?"

"It was Rahne's idea," Ororo said.

"Dumb idea to have a cape," she said.

"Well we're stuck with it now," Ororo said.

She took off down the hall,

"Catch me if you can!" she said.

For the next few minutes Scott ran after Ororo. She was still much faster than he was though. She'd always been faster. The only thing that slowed her down was when she was told that the cake was ready. Even then she only paused for a moment before running towards the dining room.

Ororo threw her cape off before taking her place at the head of the table. Scott sat down next to her as the cake was brought in. Moira came in from one of the side rooms, probably still cleaning up the mess from when Ororo unwrapped her presents.

Lorna came out with the cake, Sean and Alex close behind her. The icing was chocolate, and Scott counted fourteen candles as Lorna set it down in front of Ororo.

"Happy Birthday Ororo!" she said.

Ororo gave Scott a thumbs-up before blowing out the candles on her cake. Warren moved away at the last minute to make sure that he was standing clear of the smoke: his wings had a tendency to get dirty easily.

From the other side of the table Scott could see Clarice give a tentative smile. She still didn't talk much, but he counted her among his friends now. It was hard to think that at one point he'd thought she was stuck-up. Now she just seemed shy and difficult to get across too.

Well, difficult for everyone except Rahne. She was the only one that Clarice would fully smile at. Scott supposed that Rahne's appetite for life was just too infectious for anyone to resist for long. Somehow or another, she'd worn Clarice down.

Alex got up and handed Ororo a big knife handle first.

"Okay, you get to cut your own cake this year," he said.

She made a face.

"So I turn fourteen and I have to start doing work?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Alex said.

She rolled her eyes but began cutting the cake. She had to push the sweater that she got from her sister off the table. There was also a sloppy card that had been drawn by her nephew. Ororo said that Evan's penmanship was becoming legible. Scott didn't say anything, but he didn't argue.

Someone passed him a slice of chocolate cake. Scott sat down and began cutting some off with his fork.

"Scott," Moira said, "not until everyone has some."

He sighed and pushed at his plate.

"Yeah Scott," Ororo said, "I get to eat some first, dontcha know?"

"Don't be such a pain," Scott said.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm fourteen today," she said, "I get to do anything I want."

"Like act like you're two?"

"I'm not the one sulking," Ororo said.

"Less talking, more cake cutting," Warren said.

Ororo stuck her tongue out at him, but got back to cutting the cake. Moira sat down at the end of the table. The Professor wheeled in and smiled.

"I see you started without me," he said.

"You said you'd be ten minutes, and that was half an hour ago," Alex said, "You try telling this many kids to wait for cake that long."

"True," the Professor said, amused.

He looked over at Moira.

"I assume that you haven't given her our gift yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Moira said.

Ororo stopped cutting the cake.

"I get another gift?" she asked, her eyes flashing with excitement.

"Of course you do," the Professor said, "Fourteen is an important birthday-"

"People say that about every year," Ororo said.

"It's true," the Professor said, "But don't interrupt."

"Sorry."

"It's quite alright," the Professor said, "But we thought that, being fourteen, this might be necessary."

She put the knife down.

"What is it?" she asked.

Moira pulled a small box out of her pocket. She passed it to Alex, who passed it to Ororo. Ororo looked at it curiously before opening it up. Even from where he was Scott could see the small necklace with a thunderbolt pendant.

Ororo's face lit up. Scott knew exactly what it meant. A week earlier Ororo had figured out how to command thunder. She'd made it stop in the middle of a storm when a few of the younger kids were scared and crying.

She had been out of it for several days afterwards, but the pride on her face was obvious. The Professor had praised her for it, but he'd told her that it wasn't the power that he'd appreciated. He'd told her that he'd been more impressed with why she'd used it.

Ororo pushed her hair back and clasped the necklace around her neck. Scott felt the weight of his goggles again as Ororo grinned in pride at the symbol of her mutation. Every day she seemed to become prouder of it.

"Thank you!" she said.

"We hoped you'd like it," Moira said.

"I love it," Ororo said.

Scott smiled to himself. He wanted to bottle up the moment he was seeing and store it away for a rainy day. Although he knew that things weren't going to be perfect, not after what he knew about the X-men's mission, in that moment he could believe that they would be.


	37. Chapter 37

Alex walked into study hall, his hands tightly gripped around a sheaf of papers. Moira was alone, grading a few papers from one of the younger classes. She put them down when he came in.

"I didn't know that you had study hall," she said.

"I don't," he said, "I uh, I have an important assignment coming up."

He put the sheaf of papers onto the table.

"I was wondering if you could look over this," Alex said.

Moira nodded and picked them up. Alex sat at the other end of the table, trying to keep his nerves in. He began rummaging through his backpack, looking for something to do while she read it over.

One of Scott's books was in his backpack. He began reading it, not really reading the words. He kept stealing glances at Moira, trying to gauge her reaction to his assignment through her facial expressions. He found that he was fighting a losing battle.

After an eternity she put the sheaf of papers down.

"It's not a bad lesson plan," Moira said, "It's actually quite good."

Alex cracked a grin. The paper that he had given to Moira had been the product of many nights pouring over different samples and examples. He'd thrown a few of his own experiences in there, and he'd hoped that this would keep his prospective students interested.

The fact that Moira was complimenting him meant a lot more than he'd thought it would.

"I like how you're involving the students," Moira said.

"Well, do you want to read about the Civil War, or do you want to be a part of it?" Alex asked.

"I'd rather not be a part of it, if it's all the same to you," Moira said.

He shrugged.

"I just thought that if I divided the class like that, they'd kind of get how our country was divided," he said, "I didn't make it too competitive, but I thought-"

"No, I'm agreeing with you," Moira said, "It's rather original actually."

She passed the paper back to him.

"I think that they're really going to like this," she said, "You'll have to make sure that it doesn't get too rowdy though."

"I think I can keep them in line," he said.

"You can certainly try," Moira said, amused.

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"It's rather different from your other lesson plans," Moira said, "You've done some of this interactive learning before, but not to this extent."

"I thought I'd switch gears," Alex said.

"Obviously," Moira said, "Just...to this extent?"

He chewed his tongue. He'd wanted to do more interactive lessons after what the Professor had told him. That had been a long time ago though. He'd postponed because, with everything that was happening with the X-men, he hadn't wanted to think about his school work. He'd created lesson plans that were passable and hoped to make it through the year.

Now that things had calmed down, he'd decided it was time to start experimenting again.

"The Professor told me to think about their backgrounds," Alex said, "And...after everything I've been through, I know that it was hard for me to sit still in class. Once I was safe...I kinda wanted to talk to other people."

"Interact," Moira said.

"Right," Alex said, "They want to go around and talk to each other, not sit solitary and read."

Moira smiled. She looked up at the clock.

"Speaking about sitting solitary and reading, study hall's almost over," she said, "I think that you might have another class to get to after this."

"Right," Alex said.

He put his lesson plan into his backpack and headed out. He almost ran into the Professor as he did so.

"Sorry," Alex said.

"No, I can't imagine that you saw me," the Professor said.

The Professor looked past him.

"I'm glad that I've found you Moira," he said, "I was worried that you might be upstairs."

"No. I was just finishing up with Alex," Moira said, "You should read his lesson plan."

Alex felt nerves shoot through him.

"I have to get to my next class," he said.

"I know for a fact that you still have ten minutes," Moira said, frowning.

He chewed his tongue again and looked at the Professor. The Professor was looking back at him, his expression curious. Feeling slightly caged Alex took the lesson plan back out of his backpack and handed it to the Professor.

The Professor looked it over. His face was impassive at the beginning, but a smile slowly took over his face.

"Alex, this is very good," the Professor said.

Alex grinned.

"Thanks," he said, feeling a warm pride blossoming in his chest.

The Professor handed him the lesson plan back.

"And to think," he said, "It was only three years ago when you told me that you couldn't possibly be a teacher."

"I think that shows just how much I knew," Alex said.

"Perhaps," the Professor said, "Or perhaps it shows that you might want to start valuing yourself a little more."

The pride spread and Alex's grin widened.

"Kind of a losing battle. I figure that I can't possibly believe in myself anymore than you already believe in me," he said.

The Professor laughed.

"Alex, I believe what I see with my own eyes," the Professor said.

"And then some," Alex said.

He put the lesson plan back in his backpack.

"I've got to get going," he said, "See you both."

Alex waved before going out into the hallway. He walked with a slight spring in his step. Alex knew that he had many titles: brother, friend, boyfriend, team leader. He hadn't asked for most of them, and they dominated his life in more ways than he was comfortable with sometimes.

That night he was going on patrol with the X-men, and he had no idea what would happen then. So much had happened over the past few months. However, a small, comforting voice in the back of his head told him that it wouldn't always be about the X-men.

One day he'd be a teacher too. That was one title he was okay with accepting.

* * *

"He's getting more confident," Moira said.

"You can say that again," Charles said, "I'd never thought I'd see him reach this level when he first came here. Now he seems to be excited about becoming a teacher someday."

Moira nodded.

"I remember that Levine was pretty vehement against including him," she said, "That took some convincing."

There were still things that Levine needed convincing about. Charles knew that Moira was still in contact with him. He also knew, although Moira had never directly told him, that Levine was angry about what had happened to Moira when she came back to the CIA. His refusal to come to the school was proof enough that he blamed Charles for that.

Charles blamed himself for that too. He supposed that he was happy that Moira had someone who'd been willing to fight alongside her. He was only angry that it hadn't been him, that he'd been too cowardly to take that position when it had been offered.

At least Levine had seen Rahne. He'd insisted after Moira had adopted her, interested in the child that was now his best friend's daughter. Moira had taken Rahne out on a day trip, and she'd come back chatting excitedly about her mother's friend.

Charles had had to fight down jealousy then. Although he doubted that there had ever been anything more than friendship between them, certainly not on Moira's side, he'd been jealous of the way that Rahne had reacted to meeting him. He'd still had nothing more than a passing acquaintance with his lover's daughter then, and he'd wanted to change that. He'd wanted Rahne to accept him as part of Moira's life, as part of her life.

It was one of the reasons why he had sought Moira out. They had been together for a long time now, several years. It was time to change things.

"And you convinced him in the end," Charles said.

"I trusted your judgment," Moira said, "It was an incredible power, and you said that you saw a lot of potential in him."

Charles nodded.

"I saw potential in a lot of things now," he said, "Not everything has turned out exactly the way that I'd wanted."

She reached out and took his hand. He met her eyes, feeling the weight of his thoughts pressing in on him.

"Moira, so much has happened recently," Charles said, "It's made me think about what it is I'm doing here."

She furrowed her brow, but remained quiet. He couldn't help but appreciate that. It was one of the special things about her: she knew when it was best to speak, and when it was best to listen. In his world, where too many people did neither, it was a special gift.

"What do you mean?" Moira asked.

He paused, trying to find the right words.

"Moira, when they first brought Clarice here, part of me despaired," he said, "It was the same despair that I felt when you rescued Rahne. People had done that to them, hurt them to a point where they were broken, and then walked away."

He shook his head.

"I know that my optimism comes off as naïve at times, but Rahne and Clarice were the first times that I truly felt foolish," he said, "It made me feel that, perhaps, Erik was right about a few things."

Moira's mouth opened slightly. He shook his head.

"No, I'm not finished quite yet," he said.

Charles swallowed.

"But then I saw what happened afterwards," he said, "I saw what you did, and you reminded me why I believe what I do."

He brought her hand to his lips.

"You are the smartest, kindest, most understanding, bravest person I ever met," Charles said, "Every time I look at you I remember what the human race can be if it only stops being frightened for a moment, the embodiment of everything that I'm fighting for."

Her fingertips silently turned from his lips to caress his face.

"Charles-"

"Moira," he said, "Please...I...there are other things that I have to say."

She nodded, tears in her eyes.

"I know that I've made poor decisions in the past concerning you," Charles said, "And after what I did, you let me in again. You gave me a second chance, one that I didn't deserve."

Moira's fingers continued their slow journey. They felt good on his face, but he stopped them and lowered her hand so that it was chest level.

"You do deserve more than a life tied to a life that may or may not fully accept you," Charles said, "One in constant warfare, one tied to a crippled man."

"Charles, you know that I don't-" Moira said.

"See it that way," Charles finished, "Trust me, I know. And sometimes, listening to you, I can believe that it isn't that way. But it is. I'm just not foolish enough to argue with you anymore. Not when you told me that it's what you want. I just think you should know that, if I could, I would give you the world."

He used his spare hand to pull out the ring he was carrying in his pocket. Tears spilled out of Moira's cheeks as he moved it towards her hand.

"As it is, all I can give you is me," he said, "I love you Moira, and if you'll let me, I'll be your husband and a father to your daughter. There's nothing that I want more."

Moira bit her lip and nodded, her breath catching. He slipped the ring onto her finger before letting her hand go. Charles put his hands on either side of her face and pulled her in for a kiss. Her hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him close.


	38. Chapter 38

"Can I talk to you Scott?" Rahne asked.

Scott put his book aside.

"What about?" he asked.

Rahne looked around before clambering onto the couch next to him. Although Rahne was eight, almost nine, she was still tiny enough that it was difficult to climb up onto the high couch. He'd caught Ororo assuring her that she was going to get taller in time.

Scott gave her a hand and she sat down next to him.

"What's up?" he asked.

Rahne paused for a minute and pulled her knees to her chest.

"You had a father, right?" she asked.

Scott felt a lump in his throat.

"Right?" Rahne asked.

He nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak.

"What was he like?" Rahne asked.

Scott could feel his frustration mounting. With every year it got a little more difficult to remember his father. He'd only been five years old when his parents had died in the plane crash. His mother was also difficult to remember.

At first his memories of them had been strong, and he'd clung to them desperately through the difficult years in the orphanage. He'd felt some of them blur a little, but it had never been anything that he couldn't brush off. His memories of Alex had been reinforced by the fact that he'd been reunited with him four years later.

He struggled to pull up a concrete image of his father for his friend.

"He was strong and liked working on cars," Scott said, "He was a pilot, and he'd fought in the war."

"Which one?" Rahne asked.

"World War II," Scott said.

The case full of medals flashed into his mind. For some reason, that image always stayed with him.

"He was a hero," he said.

"Like your brother?" Rahne asked.

Scott chewed on his tongue. Had his father killed anyone? It was a dumb question: he was a solider. Of course he had. Absently Scott wondered what his father would think of Alex now. What would his mother think? Would they be concerned? Proud?

It didn't really matter, because he was dead now and Scott and Alex were alive. Scott knew that he was proud of his brother, and that the Professor was proud of Alex, and so was Moira. Alex was a hero.

"Yeah," Scott said.

"Okay," Rahne said.

He frowned. Rahne was usually more bouncy. Her silence was unnerving.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Rahne said.

"You don't look like nothing's wrong," Scott said.

She rested her chin on her knees.

"Nothing's wrong," Rahne said, "Not really."

"But something's a little wrong," Scott said, "That's what you're trying to say, isn't it?"

Rahne tugged on her pigtails.

"I think," she said.

"You think?" Scott said.

She rolled her cheek so that she faced him.

"Scott, what do you think of the Professor?" she asked.

"Don't change the subject," Scott said.

"I'm not," Rahne said.

Scott furrowed his brows, but decided to answer. It was easier to answer this inquiry than Rahne's first after all.

"Alex really looks up to him," Scott said, "And he's done right by us."

"I know that," Rahne said, "But what do you think of him?"

He let out a frustrated breath. He was really starting to feel their age difference, although he wished that he didn't. It just seemed that, as he got older, Rahne was getting a little annoying.

"He's a great guy," Scott said, "I mean, think about it. He gives up his family house and fortune to try to create a place where we can all be safe."

"I know, I know," Rahne said.

The words almost sounded like a sob.

"I just...what do you think of him?" she said.

"I just told you," Scott said.

He could feel annoyance, but Rahne's pleading tone began to shut it down. Something was wrong, and he had no idea what it was.

"Rahne-" he said.

"Scott..." Rahne said.

He fingered the spine of his book. Scott didn't know why she was asking like this, but he knew that there had to be a reason. He knew that he was going to have to let Rahne know some private things to give her the answer she wanted.

Scott looked at her. Her eyes were pleading. He sighed.

"He wants the best for everyone," Scott said, "I think...there are some things Alex has told me, but it sounds like he gave up more than just money and stuff to make all of this happen. He wants us to be happy, and he wants us..."

He touched his sunglasses and thought of a day that seemed like it had happened ages ago. He remembered the snow, surrounded in a thick blanket of heat.

_They have, at least in some small part, accepted who they are and what they can do._ _My concern for you, Scott, for any student who comes through these gates is that if you can't accept this part of yourself, then you won't be able to have that happiness. You'll never be able to join them. _

"He wants us to not be scared," Scott said.

"Oh," Rahne said.

She swallowed.

"Do you think he'd be a good father?" she asked.

Scott blinked at her.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked.

Rahne lifted her head a little.

"He's asked my mom to marry him," she said, "And he says he wants to help out and be my dad now."

Scott blinked again. He knew that he shouldn't be so surprised. The Professor and Moira had been in love for a long time. He figured that they had been together for around three years. Marriage wasn't such a strange idea.

The idea that Rahne was surprised and scared was though.

"Didn't you know that they were together?" he asked.

"I knew," Rahne said, "And he makes my mom so happy. So I wanted them to be together. But Scott..."

She looked at her hands.

"I trust you," she said, "You're my friend."

Scott wondered if he should say something, but it seemed like she was talking more to herself than anyone.

"You won't tell," she said.

She pulled her knees closer to her.

"You won't tell anyone that I told you this, right Scott?" Rahne begged, "I haven't told anyone, and they can't know."

"Of course not," Scott said.

She closed her eyes.

"I know you weren't there," she said, "But...Alex told you that there was a guy that was leading the mob, right?"

"Yeah," Scott said.

He started to feel apprehensive. His eyes glanced around the room. It didn't look like anyone was going to come in.

"And that he was gonna shoot me," she said, "That my mom was the only reason that they didn't kill me. That he hurt me before then."

"Yeah," Scott said, his voice soft.

Rahne stifled a sob.

"He was my father."

Scott could feel ice flooding his veins.

"And...and he said that I was...I was a trick, and that it was my mother's fault and that's why I killed her when I was born," Rahne said, the words tumbling over each other, "And that she was a harlot and it was her reward and that's why I couldn't be with other children. Then he caught me in my wolf form and started screaming all these things..."

He continued to stare at her, the numbness reaching his fingertips.

"And then I learned that I have a much better father who loved me," Rahne said, "The one The Bible tells me about. And I thought I couldn't be a demon, and if he was calling me one and trying to hurt me, then I needed to get out. So it was okay to run away because I needed to protect myself."

Scott's head started to swim.

"The Professor isn't him," Rahne said, "But I...I've tried to think about other things for so long. I thought that everything was going to be perfect so I just thought of all that in the past. But I can't stop thinking about this. I can't stop."

She let go of her knees and clutched the sides of her head. Scott could feel his heart pounding in his ears.

"Everything was so perfect when I came here. And I'd never had a mother before, and that was amazing because I knew she loved me and she'd already risked her life to protect me," Rahne said, "She asked for me to be her daughter, wanted me. So I knew I could be good. I knew I could be a good daughter."

She buried her face in her knees.

"But having a father...Scott, what if I'm not a good daughter after all?" she said, "What if my other father didn't love me because-"

"Rahne, stop right now," Scott hissed.

Rahne looked up. Scott let his book fall to the floor and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Your other father didn't love you because he was a monster," Scott said, his voice fierce, "He didn't know how awesome you are. And that's what you are, awesome. That's why Miss Moira loves you, that's why she wanted you to be her daughter."

Rahne's mouth opened.

"But-"

"No buts Rahne," Scott said, "You told me that you believe in God, that you really believe, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts," Scott said, "That means that you have faith, right?"

"Yes..." Rahne whispered.

"Then have faith in the Professor," Scott said, "Have faith in him. He's only ever wanted to help, and he's never lied to us. He's telling the truth when he says that he wants to be your father. He's done the same thing that Miss Moira did when she adopted you. He's declaring that he loves you and wants you as his child."

Tears spilled down Rahne's cheeks.

"Don't you understand?" Scott said, "Everyone here wants you. That...that..."

Scott could feel words failing him. He needed something stronger than his usual arsenal. He thought of one that Alex used when he thought that Scott wasn't listening.

"That bastard had something wrong with him," Scott said, "There is nothing about you that's wrong. Nothing about you that isn't beautiful. Okay? You're going to be a great daughter for the Professor, just like you've been for Miss Moira."

Rahne made a keening noise in the back of her throat. She burst into sobs and threw her arms around Scott's neck. He hugged her back.

"It's okay," he said, "It's okay."

He thought about the day that Rahne had come into his life, when he'd seen Moira carry her into the Blackbird. She'd seemed so innocent and vulnerable then. Now that he knew her he knew just how innocent she was.

She needed to be protected from monsters like her father. Her and everyone like her. She had managed to find the courage to run, but Scott knew that there were others who didn't have that courage. It might be impossible to turn back the clock and stop that man from hurting her, but it wasn't too late to those who were going to come after her.

As Rahne sobbed into his shirt, he realized that that was what Alex was trying to do in a way that he hadn't before. Alongside the Professor and the rest of the X-men, he was trying to protect children like Rahne. He was helping them do what they couldn't do themselves.

It was then that he realized that he wanted to be just like his brother.

"Thank you," Rahne whispered.

She pulled away a little. Scott pulled up his sleeves and began wiping the tears from her face.

"It's gonna be okay Rahne," he said, "I think you're gonna have a great time with the Professor as your father."

Rahne gave him a watery smile.

"I think so too," she said.


	39. Chapter 39

"I should've seen this coming," Levine said, "He always did give you cow eyes during the mission."

"Don't be ridiculous," Moira said.

"Ridiculous. Right," Levine said.

He adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves.

"How's Rahne taking it?" he asked.

Moira nodded and sipped her water. Levine didn't often get enough time off work to visit her, and when he did they had lunch. He was her only friend outside the Institute, and her only human friend. He was also the only connection to her past.

He'd been exultant about the news of her engagement over the phone, but in person he seemed a little more cagey. She wondered if something was wrong, but figured that he'd tell her when he was ready.

"I think that she's taking it well," Moira said, "I'm certain that it intimidated her a bit at first, I understand that, I really do. We were both worried about that to be honest."

She remembered the way that her stomach had flipped as Rahne had stared at the two of them, her eyes big and her face anxious. Moira could feel Charles in her mind, feel his fear. She knew that he wanted to be a good father, wanted Rahne to trust him and see him in that role. The idea that she was scared of doing so was a terrible one.

Moira had also felt as though she had somehow failed her daughter. Charles was a good man, the best man that Moira had ever known. He would be a good father to Rahne, she knew that. What if Rahne wasn't ready for that though?

Rahne had stared for another minute, her whole body going rigid. She'd stumbled over a request to leave, and Moira had granted it. Rahne liked to be alone sometime, and she wondered if that was what she'd needed.

Apparently it had been. When she saw her next Rahne was happy and bouncy. She had hugged Charles and asked Moira if she could be the flower girl. Moira had held her close, telling her that she'd let her pick out the flowers.

"But she came around fast enough," Moira said.

"Have you set a date yet?" Levine asked.

"We think sometime in May," she said.

Her friend made a face.

"That's kind of fast," Levine said.

She gave him a long look.

"Do I need to remind you just how many years we've been together?" she asked.

"No, I mean that I need to give advance warning to get time off," Levine said, "I'd need, what, three days at least? That's hard to come by MacTaggert."

She laughed.

"You should have some saved up Levine," she said.

He made a face. Despite their long friendship, they still called each other by their last names. It had been common where they had worked, and the idea of using their first names seemed unthinkable now.

"I used it up," Levine said.

"I'm sure you can convince someone to pull a few strings," she said.

The troubled look returned to Levine's face.

"I don't have as many strings as I used to," he said.

"Why not?" she asked.

Levine looked around. The restaurant was mostly empty, and he leaned in.

"I've been doing some investigating of my own over the past few months," he said, "And...Moira, there is mention of a Rahne Sinclair somewhere."

"What?" Moira asked.

He nodded.

"It's not much, but there is a birth certificate," he said, "Her mother was named Felicia Sinclair."

Moira could feel her insides turn to ice. Rahne had a mother out there somewhere, a mother who wasn't her. A mother who hadn't protected Rahne from all of the horrible things that had happened to her.

Levine caught her expression and shook his head.

"Felicia died giving birth to her," he said.

Although she knew that it was horrible, Moira relaxed. A mystery woman wasn't going to come and try to take Rahne away.

"There wasn't any biological father listed," Levine said, "And there wasn't an investigation because Felicia, she uh..."

Levine's face began to turn red. Moira had always been able to read Levine like a book, and his growing embarresment set the wheels turning in her head.

"She was...she had a certain-" Levine began.

"Reputation?" Moira said, unable to keep her scorn out of her voice.

The idea that a woman's child wouldn't know her father because some hospital workers had been squeamish about the mother's "reputation" made her want to throw up.

"Um, not exactly," Levine said.

Moira sighed.

"She was a prostitute?" she asked.

Levine nodded.

"Rahne was immediately shuffled off to an orphanage. But I found out who the orphanage was owned by," he said, "It was someone called Reverend Craig."

"A Reverend?" Moira said.

She couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. Levine nodded, his expression grim.

"Yeah, a reverend," he said, "He disappeared shortly after you found Rahne. Probably knew that someone was going to find him. I'm just sorry that I didn't do it sooner."

He tapped his fingers on the table.

"Moira, I found something else out," he said, "Apparently he went to college with...he was...oh God, he was best friends with Stryker in college."

She fought the urge to gape at Levine, to ask him if he was joking. Levine wouldn't joke about something as important.

"Believe it or not, this gets worse," Levine said, "You told me a bit about those labs that the X-men went into a few months ago."

Moira shifted uncomfortably. She knew that she shouldn't tell Levine so much about their lives, but she knew that she could trust him. More than that though, he had resources that could help them.

"It looks like Stryker might have invested in them at one point," Levine said.

She sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Sometimes I think that man doesn't have a single redeeming quality," Moira said.

"I hear his son likes him," Levine said.

"That's the last thing we need: another Stryker," she said.

She leaned back.

"Did you find out anything about whether or not there were any more labs?" she asked.

"No," he said, "There were only three. I just think that you lot might want to be keeping a closer eye on Stryker."

He shook his head.

"I know I am," he said.

He was about to go on, but Moira saw a waitress heading for them. She made a small motion with her hand and Levine yawned.

"Of course, Pete can be such a hard-head when it comes to toning supplies," he said.

The waitress left them their cheque and moved on.

"Toning supplies?" Moira asked.

"It sounds like something a stuffy businessman would say," Levine said, "It's irrelevant. I thought that you needed to know all of that."

Moira removed her hand from her head and sat up.

"Thank you for telling me all of this," she said.

"I just want to make sure that you're alright MacTaggert," he said.

"I always am," she said.

Levine threw his hands up.

"I don't think you get it," he said, "You're smart and strong, but you keep getting in deeper and deeper. You deal with people on a daily basis who can blow up buildings with their minds-"

"We haven't come across anyone like that," Moira said.

"You know what I mean," Levine said, "And now you're marrying this guy."

His tone was somewhat derisive. She knew he was thinking about the one time she had allowed herself to break down over the loss of her career and a blossoming love. While she had thought that Levine had made his peace with Charles, there was evidently still some resentment there.

"He won't hurt me again Levine," she said, "I know he won't. I'm not some silly little girl in a romance novel who keeps running back and making the same mistakes over and over."

"Yeah, yeah," Levine said, "But I worry about you."

His superior tone began to grate.

"I can take care of myself," Moira said.

"Not really," Levine said.

Moira crossed her arms and glared at him. Levine put his hands up defensively.

"Like I said, I know you're strong," he said, "And that you can take care of other people. But you keep...you keep neglecting yourself."

Moira couldn't help but chuckle.

"That's what I'm always telling Charles," she said.

"Then how about you listen to your own advice?" Levine said, "It looks like you're running with a dangerous crowd now. I don't want to see you hurt, and it just seems like you're careening towards that."

Moira pressed her lips together.

"I can take care of myself," she repeated.

"See that you do," Levine said.

He cocked his head.

"I'm happy for you though," he said, "Honestly, I'm happy that things are working out between the two of you. The way he was dragging his feet, I thought it was never going to happen."

Moira smiled.

"He's good for me Levine," she said.

"You know him better than I do MacTaggert," Levine said.

He cleared his throat.

"How are the others getting along?" he asked, "I doubt that they even remember me: I wasn't that memorable really, and I didn't stick around after Shaw came to the compound."

"Someone had to handle the clean-up," Moira said.

"And they trusted you more," he said.

Moira could only shrug.

"They're doing fine," she said, "Sean is studying to go into Interpol when he graduates. He said that it would give him a chance to see the world. He wants to go for his master's though, so he's looking into that. Hank is..."

She paused, trying to figure out the right words. Hank enjoyed tinkering in his lab alone, although Charles was trying to get him to consider teaching a few classes.

"Hank," she said, "And Alex..."

Moira smiled again.

"You'd be so surprised if you could see him now Levine," she said, "He's so different. He's not that bitter convict that we had to convince McCone to let out."

"Really?" Levine asked, interested.

"He's going to become a teacher, but you already knew that," Moira said, "I just think that he can really do it. I knew he could become a teacher, but now I think that it's possible for him to become a great teacher."

Levine's brow furrowed.

"Is this the same guy who called the prison guards pigs on the way out," he asked.

"Yes and no," Moira said, "You'll see when you run into him at the wedding. He's calmed down, changed his life, and I think a lot of that has to do with his brother."

"And how's he?" Levine asked.

"Good too," Moira said, "He's very shy about his..."

She glanced around the restaurant. The last guest had left and the waitress had gone into the back.

"...mutation," she said, "But he and Alex really help each other. He's one of Rahne's best friends."

"If she likes him, I guess he can't be too bad," Levine said.

He pushed away from the table and got out his wallet.

"I'm paying this time," Levine said, "No arguments."

"I'm going to argue all the same," Moira said.

He rolled his eyes as he began counting out the bills.

"Just call it an early wedding present," he said.

"Well, when you put it that way," Moira said.

Levine grabbed his coat and shrugged it on.

"I'm serious though," he said, "Take care of yourself."

"And I'm serious too," Moira said, "I can take anything life throws at me."


	40. Chapter 40

"Getting in is going to be tricky," Alex said, "They've probably got the place rigged up pretty well."

He drummed his fingers on the table. The X-men were crowded around a small table in Hank's lab. Alex thought that they should have a room where they could discuss their plans in a more secretive manner. Maybe he could talk to the Professor about building a few extensions.

On one of their raids they'd managed to procure blueprints to a facility that reminded Alex far too much of Essex Moira had told them about the link between Stryker, Essex, and Craig, they had done some research of their own. It appeared that most of the data Essex Industries had collected had fallen into Stryker's hands. It was currently being stored in an underground compound.

They didn't know for sure whether or not Stryker was going to continue Essex Industries' work. Alex was starting to get a funny feeling that "Essex" might just be a made-up name, something for Stryker to hide behind. Either way, it did seem likely that another lab was going to be set up.

The problem was that the compound also fell under a CIA contract. Levine had, after investigating, told Moira that it was supposed to be a vehicle repair facility. Alex snorted: anyone who had the blueprints knew that this wasn't for any kind of vehicle repair that he knew.

Still, it would make it easy for Stryker to hide it. It also made it easy for him to send security there if it was attacked. The compound was just far enough away from major CIA facilities for it to slip past most people's eyes, but close enough to have soldiers sent to it if something went wrong. A lot of soldiers.

"Once we're in there, we're probably going to run into some guards sooner or later," Alex said, "So that means that we're going to have to pair up."

"That's not a problem," Lorna said, "I'll go with Hank, and you go with Sean."

Alex fidgeted. The compound in front of them was probably the most complicated place that they had ever attempted to break into. Even if they did disable the alarms successfully, they were almost certain to meet with resistance.

It was logical for Lorna to go with Hank if they split up to work on the alarms. Hank had highly sensitive hearing, and sometimes Sean's power hurt him even when he had his ears covered. It made more sense for Lorna to work with him.

Even so, he wished that Lorna would stay with him. Although she was capable, she was still the newest recruit. It was silly, she had been an X-man for a long time now, but still. He didn't want her in that sort of danger without him.

Sometimes it got to him that it was different with Lorna. Hank and Sean were his best friends, and he'd always felt a twinge of guilt for leading them into dangerous situations. However, he had rarely felt anxiety. Lorna wasn't just his friend though, and he couldn't understand why he always felt so strongly about leading her into battle.

Still, when he was with the X-men, he knew that Lorna wasn't his girlfriend. She was his teammate, and one that had saved his life on more than one occasion. So he nodded at Lorna's words, fighting his own personal feelings.

"Right," he said, "Makes sense."

He looked back at Hank.

"Can you think of a way in to disable the alarms?" Alex said.

Hank looked at the compound's blueprints and shook his head.

"Not a way in that doesn't involve two of me," Hank said.

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. The Professor rested his chin on his hand.

"Could you elaborate?" he asked.

"It's like this," Hank said, pointing to one of the entrances, "We need someone here to make sure that the alarms don't go off when we go deeper in. I can disable the first few alarms, but you're going to need me to hack into the main server to get the information out."

"So we disable the inside alarms and then you go and hack the main server," Sean said.

Alex just sighed.

"If it was that simple, then Hank would've figured it out already," he said.

Sean rolled his eyes.

"Point taken," he said.

"From what I know of the system they're using, I think that the alarms reset themselves every few minutes," Hank said, "I'd need to constantly be hacking them to make sure that no one sets anything off."

"I guess there's no point in asking if you could do both at the same time?" Sean asked.

"Two different servers, two different locations," Hank said, "We need to have someone downloading the files here-"

He pointed to a location on one side of the compound.

"-and another over here," he said.

His finger moved to the opposite side of the compound.

"No chance you could teach any of us to work the servers?" Sean said.

"I could," Hank said, "But it would take about a month."

"We don't have a month," Alex said, "They're probably already doing God knows what with that stuff from Essex."

"Yeah, I got that," Hank said, "But that's the best I've got."

"You've got me."

Alex closed his eyes for a moment before forcing them open. Moira walked into the rooms, her arms crossed.

"We need to start locking that door," he muttered.

"It was locked," Moira said.

She held up the key in her hand.

"I just have the key," she said, "But some of you seem to be forgetting that I worked at the CIA for several years. I may even know their code methods better than Hank. I never really studied the alarms, but I can get into the main server and get the data while he deals with the alarms."

Charles took his chin off of his hand.

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that," he said.

Moira smiled.

"I didn't think you would be," she said, "Which is why I didn't speak up sooner."

"How long were you there?" Lorna asked.

"Long enough," Moira said, her voice amused, "In any case, I don't really think that there's any other option. We'll leave Sam in charge of the school when we go, and this whole thing shouldn't take more than three hours, including travel time."

"Two and a half," Hank said, "I'd like to be out of there faster than an hour."

"Wouldn't we all," Alex said.

The Professor gave Moira a concerned look. Alex knew that he was conflicted, much like he felt when it came to Lorna on the battlefield. The only difference between Lorna and Moira was that Moira was a non-combatant.

Despite her knowledge of basic defense techniques, Moira had had a desk job at the CIA. She'd had radio training, which was the main reason why she had come to the beach in Cuba. Now she worked as support for the X-men.

At no point had it been expected that she would go out into combat. Sure, she'd had a gun on the beach. He imagined that she'd taken a gun on a few surveillance operations. He had no doubt that she knew how to use it.

That didn't mean that it would be the safest thing to bring her along with them. The position where she would be in was near the heart of the compound. If things went South then she could end up hemmed in by guards.

He knew that all this and more was going through the Professor's head, but the Professor wasn't saying anything. Not out loud. From the way his and Moira's eyes were meeting though, he had a pretty good feeling that they were saying quite a bit in their heads.

* * *

_I don't like this. _

_I didn't think you would_, Moira thought.

Charles struggled not to let out a frustrated breath. He knew that the conversation he needed to have with his fiancée wasn't something that he could let his students and X-men hear. Even so, it was difficult not to let out any physical signs of their disagreement.

_You're not combat-trained. _

_Not to the extent of the X-men, no,_ Moira admitted, _And believe me, I'm not trying to do this to prove myself or something silly. If you don't have me then you're going to be stalled for a month. How many lives do you think are going to be ruined in that month?_

_We don't know for sure that they're building a lab there_, Charles thought.

_Are you willing to take that risk?_

Charles bit the inside of his cheek.

_I don't want you to get hurt Moira_, he thought.

_I know_, Moira thought, her thoughts more gentle now, _But these people are dangerous. You saw what they did to Clarice. What they tried to do to my daughter. Our daughter._

Charles couldn't help but look away. In a few months, he would have the right to call Rahne his daughter. He hoped that she would call him father when it happened, and already she seemed to accept the idea.

Craig had hurt her terribly, and the idea that he'd been in league with people who could continue to do the same thing cut him deeply.

_You know that I need to do this Charles,_ Moira thought.

_Love..._

_It will be fine,_ Moira thought.

More than anything Charles wanted to reach out and touch her. He couldn't though. Not with so many people around them.

_One condition. _

_What's that?_ Moira thought.

"It seems reasonable," Charles said, "But it means that we'll have an uneven number."

"Meaning?" Alex asked.

From the tone in his student's voice, he knew that Alex already knew.

"I'm coming too," Charles said.

_Charles-_

_We can argue about this later_, he thought.

"I know that my combat abilities may not be the best, which is why I don't often do field work," Charles said, "But in this case telepathic abilities might be useful. I can facilitate faster communications this way. None of you will ever be out of contact with each other."

_You're staying on the Blackbird though, aren't you?_ Moira thought.

Charles gritted his teeth together. It killed him that he was going to send the love of his life into battle without being by her side. While he wasn't sure just how intense Alex's feelings for Lorna were, he knew that he at least got the comfort of being able to fight with her.

He wasn't foolish enough to think that he would get that comfort.

"I will remain on the Blackbird," Charles said, "I don't think that the illegal facility bothers with handicap accessible halls."

Alex cracked a grin. Lorna looked over at Moira.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked.

"I've done a few undercover missions in the past," Moira said, "I'll be fine."

Lorna nodded, swallowing her uncertainty.

_Moira, if anything happens to you I'll never forgive myself_, Charles thought.

_Charles..._

He thought that her next thoughts would be full of assurances, a way to sweep his concern under the rug.

_I'd feel the same if anything happened to you_, she thought, _And if they went and I didn't, and I could've helped..._

Inwardly, he sighed.

_I understand_, he thought.

A wave of love passed over their connection. Mentally he reached out and embraced her. Charles tried to tell himself to calm down, that he needed to trust that everything would be alright. He'd fought alongside Moira once before. Why was this any different?

Back then he hadn't been engaged to her, felt like she was part of his soul now. He withdrew from her mind and Moira walked closer to the table.

"Now, what's the rest of the plan?" Moira asked.


	41. Chapter 41

Alex peered around the corner. Sean stood at his shoulder, but kept his back against the wall. Moira stood behind them, busily tapping away on the servers. Hank had handed her a floppy disk before they'd gone in, and Alex knew that it had a special encryption on it. No one would be able to trace just what had happened to the data.

If everything went well, then no one would know that they had ever been there. They had managed to avoid any direct confrontations with any of the guards, and he was grateful for that.

He knew that Hank was still busy buying them time with Lorna watching his back. He was receiving regular updates from the Professor, but it didn't seem to be enough. Every second was a special type of agony that Alex struggled to describe.

It wasn't the fact that they were on a dangerous mission. It was the fact that there was nothing to do. Moira was working furiously, and so was Hank. The Professor was relaying messages and updates between all of them.

The rest of the X-men were forced to wait. He knew that they were doing the logical thing, keeping a sharp lookout. Moira and Hank were all but defenseless while they were working the controls.

The waiting was killing him though. Just how much longer was this going to go on? He swallowed and looked back at Moira.

_Alex_, the Professor thought, _Hank said that he's figured out a pattern in the alarms. It should be easier for him to buy time now. How's it going on your end?_

_All clear,_ Alex thought, _Is Moira close to getting everything downloaded?_

_She should be finished in another seven minutes._

Alex bit his fist to stifle a groan.

_Patience Alex. This is a difficult procedure. _

_I know, I know_, Alex thought.

He leaned his head against the wall.

_I'm just a little anxious. I don't trust silence. _

_I sympathize_, the Professor thought.

Alex just nodded and looked over at Sean. Sean gave him a wry smile back.

"How's it feel to be breaking the law again?" he murmured.

Alex rolled his eyes.

"This isn't the first time we've broken into a CIA compound," he said.

"Not like this," Sean said, "Think we could get executed for this?"

"If they successfully argue it's treason, then yeah. We'd be dead," Alex said.

"Huh," Sean said.

He cracked his knuckles.

"I guess we just can't get caught then," he said.

Alex looked back over at Moira. Her fingers continued to fly across the keyboard. She looked almost excited, just like Hank when he was trying to figure out a particularly complicated formula. He wondered what the code-breaking and hacking must feel like to her. Was it her own personal battlefield, fought with wit instead of fists?

He figured that he'd asked her about it afterwards.

_Alex, Hank said that the alarm systems are picking something up on the other side of the compound_, the Professor thought.

_What?_ Alex thought.

_He's having to shut those ones down too so that the whole thing doesn't go off,_ the Professor thought, _It's near where you are, but your section is in a different alarm system. Whoever they are, they're not quite within my range. _

Alex swore to himself. Someone else was breaking in, and they weren't as careful as they were.

_How's Hank holding up, having to stop so many systems?_ he thought.

_I'm afraid that he's not doing as well as I would like_, the Professor thought.

_Then I'm going to have to stop them,_ he thought, _We don't know what they're here for, but we have to stop them from triggering the alarm system. Do they want to get caught?_

_I really can't speak for them,_ _but I doubt it. _

_Tell Sean about the change of plans, and ask Moira to hurry up, _Alex thought.

_You're going alone?_

_I won't be gone long,_ Alex thought, _If I can't handle them, then I'll just do a little bit of surveillance and then I'll come right back. I won't take them on if I'm heavily outnumbered._

_Don't do anything foolish Alex. _

_I won't Professor,_ Alex thought.

He peeled off the wall and hurried down the hall. While he didn't like that someone else had decided that it was a good idea for treason as well, at least it gave him something to do. He kept himself close to the wall and moved down the halls.

So far none of the guards seemed to be aware that there were two different groups infiltrating the base. Alex could hear a muted conversation in one of the rooms, but he managed to get past them quietly enough.

The tunnels became more winding. Alex wiped some sweat off his brow. Running quickly and quietly was more difficult than one would think. He could feel his feet muscles aching with the strain that it took to move fast without making any noise.

Alex turned a corner and almost ran straight into Magneto. He immediately took a step back and Magneto turned. They stared at each other for a moment, Alex's heartbeat doubling with every second.

It had been years since he had last seen Magneto, and even further since he had fought him. Alex doubted that anyone could count their brief encounter on the day that Alex had killed Azazel. His mind began whirring away, trying to assess his situation.

"It's been a while Alex," Magneto said.

His voice was cold and amused. It helped ground Alex, forcing him to straighten and look his one-time mentor in the eye.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Defense plans," Magneto shrugged, "I suppose the same as you."

Defense plans. Alex stared blankly at him. He didn't know about Essex Industries. That meant that he wasn't trying to get the same information that they were, that they were very definitely not there for the same thing.

"You do know that you're tripping the alarm system, don't you?" Alex asked.

Magneto nodded. Alex had no clue how long they could keep up the strange conversational tone that they had established, but he had to figure something out before it ended. He had no idea just what he was going to do if he couldn't.

"Yes, we thought that was a risk we would have to take," Magneto said, "Besides, it might be good for the CIA to know that there are mutants who are willing to fight back. It would also give voice to our feelings about an unfortunate 'surprise' attack that they planned for us a few days ago."

Alex wanted to scream.

"You're tripping the alarms on purpose?" he hissed.

"That took a little longer for you to figure out then I'd thought," Magneto said, "But yes. They haven't gone off yet, which, disappointingly enough, lets me know that you've somehow blocked that."

Magneto smiled. He had to force himself not to take another step back.

"No matter," he said.

"What do you-?" Alex began.

Magneto flung his hand out. A chunk of the wall came off, flying into Alex and sending him into the opposite wall. From somewhere further down the tunnel he could hear shouts, and the wind began to pick up.

"It's time to send a message," Magneto said.

* * *

Moira had nearly finished gathering the last of the data when she heard shouts. The alarm went off and she turned around. Sean ran into the room, his eyes wide.

"Something's gone wrong," he said, "We need to get out of here."

"It's not done yet though," Moira said.

"We don't have much of a choice," Sean said.

Gunfire filled the hallway. Three guards burst into the room, their guns leveled.

"Put your hands up!" he yelled.

Moira didn't even have to look at Sean. Her hands flew to her ears and Sean let out a scream. The guards fell to the floor, clutching their heads. Sean paused to take another breath as two other guards came into the room.

The first met Sean's fist. The other one grabbed Moira's arm and she struggled to remember her training. At the last moment she lashed out with her hand, jamming his nose into his skull. There was a crunch and he stumbled back. Moira hit him in the throat, sending him to his knees. With a final kick to the head he fell to the floor.

Sean sent the other guard to the ground, just as a form slipped behind him.

"Banshee!" Moira yelled.

He turned, but not in time. Mystique kicked out, scraping his face. Sean stumbled backwards and hit the wall. Mystique ran forwards and grabbed his head, slamming his face into the wall. Moira could see the smear of blood that it left behind.

Moira ran forward and grabbed Mystique's arm. Mystique snarled at her and pushed her backwards. Moira hit the server. When had Mystique gotten so strong? At least she had abandoned Sean. Moira could see that he had slumped down: unconscious. Mystique kicked him backwards before advancing.

_Moira, what's going on?_

From outside of the doorway Moira could make out Janos, twisters already forming in his hands.

_Charles, I think I may need back-up_, Moira thought.

_I'll send Lorna and Hank over right away_, Charles thought, his concern coming through clearly, _They should only be a minute-_

"You again," Mystique said, her eyebrows arched, "Whose side are you on this time?"

Moira looked at the floppy disk. There were only two minutes left on it. After that she just needed to put in a command word, and they would have everything they needed.

"I've only ever had one side Mystique," she said.

Mystique smirked.

"Whatever you say. You're in my way human," she said.

Moira positioned herself further in front of the server. She needed more time to get the last of the information. Moira had no idea what it was that Mystique wanted from the server, but she knew that what they were gathering was going to save lives. She wasn't about to jeopardize that.

"I'm not moving," she said.

"I hoped you'd say that," Mystique said.

There was a flash of blue, and Moira felt Mystique grab her hair. Moira flung her head back and connected with Mystique's nose. She only needed a few more minutes: Lorna and Hank would be there soon. She could hold out for them. She could do it.

Mystique turned around and pushed Moira into the wall. She grabbed her hair again and put her other arm around Moira's throat. Moira began scrabbling at her arm, trying to find a way to break her hold.

"So you're an X-man right now, huh?" Mystique asked, "Still chasing after my brother?"

Black spots started to swim in front of Moira's eyes.

"I wonder. How does it feel to be the slave of both sides," Mystique said, "and yet loved by none?"

Gun shots rang out down the hallway. Mystique loosened her grip at the sound, and Moira managed to duck out of it. She kicked Mystique in the stomach, heading towards the server. Thirty seconds. That's all it needed. Thirty seconds and a final command word.

Two guards were struggling with Mystique. Moira could see the button that would close the door. If she moved fast she would be able to pull Sean inside. It wasn't perfect, but it would work as a temporary sanctuary. She moved for it just as Mystique pulled out the standard-issue knife that most of the guards carried.

She slashed his throat just as Moira went by. Mystique twirled around and there was a flash of white. Slowly, Moira looked down at the knife sticking in her stomach. Mystique twisted it once and Moira could barely bite back her scream.

Her hands trembled as they went out, trying to steady the weapon. For a moment she saw Mystique's eyes widen. Then she yanked the knife out and Moira toppled to the floor, her blood spreading out beneath her.

"What...I..." Mystique stammered.

There were more gun shots. Mystique looked back. Janos had created another tornado in his hands, but it was bigger than the last. Blearily Moira saw the roof begin to shake. Mystique gave Moira one last look before leaping through the doorway.

Janos released the tornado. The wind pushed her back and she saw Sean slide further down the hall. Then the doorframe collapsed.


	42. Chapter 42

Lorna was running as fast as she could. Her lungs were burning, just like the panic coursing through her blood. The Professor had told them that Moira and Sean were trapped, and a communication had come seconds later from Alex telling them that the Brotherhood were the ones tripping the alarms.

It was enough for Hank to abandon his work and begin hurrying towards Moira's location. It was pointless to try to stop the rest of the alarms: reinforcements were already coming.

A heavy knot of anxiety formed inside her. She could feel fear for Alex rising: he was alone, and she didn't know how many members of the Brotherhood he was up against. She felt afraid for Moira, the woman who had rescued her but had little combat experience. If she was trapped with Sean she had some sort of protection, but once again, they didn't know exactly what the situation was.

She rounded the corner just as she felt the floor shake. She nearly toppled over, but Hank grabbed her arm. He looked ahead, his yellow eyes narrowed.

"I think Riptide's up there," he said.

"I thought he was with the Hellfire people?" Lorna said.

"Then maybe they're here," Hank said.

"Dammit," Lorna said.

She steadied herself and continued down the hall. They rounded another corner and saw Mystique and Riptide standing there, surrounded by the limp forms of guards. A doorway was blocked up: the roof had collapsed. Lorna knew enough from the blueprint to know that that was the room that Moira had been trying to hack the server from. She was trapped inside.

Her eyes flickered around the rest of the room. A familiar yellow jumpsuit shined out amongst the rest. Sean was lying prostrate on the ground. Mystique turned towards them and, for the first time, Lorna saw that Mystique's hands were covered in blood. There was a knife on the ground, the red droplets scattered across the floor. Lorna felt the world slow.

Next to her Hank growled and launched himself forwards. He tackled Mystique and pushed her to the ground. Behind them tornados began to form in Riptide's hands. The rubble on the ground began to fly upwards.

Most of the guards had been equipped with guns though. Lorna flung out her hands and the guns went flying, slamming into Riptide and shoving him into the ground. He tried to get up, but Lorna flicked her wrist and the heaviest guns smashed into his head, knocking him out.

Lorna turned her head towards Hank. Mystique bore a bloody slash mark on her cheek. Lorna smirked. Mystique might be more nimble, but Lorna knew from her experiences in the training room that Hank's fur made it hard to get a grip on him. He didn't need her help just yet.

She ran up to Sean, shoving the body of one of the CIA's guards off of him. She lifted up his head and he groaned. He was still alive. She almost laughed but continued to look for signs of injury.

As she did, a niggling worry took seed. It began to grow as she searched him. Sean was injured, but his wounds certainly weren't causing him to bleed. She began hoping beyond hope that one of the CIA guards had gotten in the way of Mystique's knife. They weren't bleeding either.

Lorna looked towards the blocked door, breathing heavily.

"Moira," she said.

* * *

When the rumbling had died down Moira was able to make out the blocked doorway. It didn't really matter at that point: she knew that she wasn't going to be going anywhere. Not with the size of the wound in her stomach.

She held onto her stomach, trying to remember what she could about gut wounds from her first aid classes. The only thing that she could bring to mind through the haze of pain was that they killed someone slowly and that she had to stop the bleeding. It wasn't very helpful.

Fighting the pain, Moira pushed herself up and stuck her fist to the wound. It hurt, but she knew it was stymying the flow. With great concentration she pulled off her coat and wrapped it around her waist. When she was ready she took removed her fist and blocked it up with the cloth.

Exhausted, Moira leaned up against the wall, taking deep breaths.

_Love? Oh God, what happened?_

She swallowed. He must be able to feel her pain through their connection.

_Please, talk to me_, Charles thought.

She swallowed again. How could she tell Charles that his sister had just stabbed her? She couldn't. There were other, more important things to focus on anyway.

_Charles, Sean is injured_, Moira thought, _He...I think he might be concussed. _

_I'll tell Hank and Lorna that in a moment,_ Charles thought, _But Moira, what about you?_

She blinked, the warm blood still bathing her hands. The room was blurry, and she was having difficulty seeing in front of her. However, she could hear a small noise to her left, like a beep or a bell.

The disk had finished downloading.

_It's not that bad,_ she managed.

_Moira, this is bad_, Charles thought, _Hank should be there any second now-are you moving?_

The concerned outrage in his voice made her smile. The pain hit her sharply as she pulled herself to the server.

_I need to put in the command word,_ she thought.

_No, you don't. You need to stay still!_

_We need that information. _

Moira pulled herself up onto the computer. She clumsily keyed in the command word, and the floppy disk ejected. Moira picked it up before falling to the ground.

_Moira!_

_It's okay,_ she thought, _I won't move anymore. _

_Don't do that_, he begged.

_I think that Hank and Lorna are here,_ Moira thought.

_They're quite fast. Is the bleeding slowing_?

She looked blearily down at the wound.

_I'm not sure_, she thought.

Moira wished, both for her sake and Charles's, that she could be more reassuring.

_What exactly happened?_

Moira could hear the forced business-like tone that he was using. He was trying to help in whatever way he could, gather data. She still couldn't tell him though.

_There was a fight_, she thought.

Immediately she felt Charles reaching further into her mind, trying to figure out the extent of her image. Moira tried to block the memory of who had attacked her, but she was already feeling dizzy from blood loss. Charles's horror rippled through their connection.

_Raven..._

Moira wanted to reach out and comfort him, tell him that it wasn't as bad as he'd seen. However, she felt his horror cut off, almost as though it were replaced by something else. She recognized it as concern a moment before his feelings turned into words.

_Moira, hold on,_ he thought, _Help is coming. _

_Charles..._she thought.

_Love,_ Charles thought, _I need you to be okay now. I don't care about...I don't care. I care about you, and I need you to be alright. That's all I need. _

Moira felt tears in her eyes. She applied pressure to the wound in her side, trying to concentrate on the love coming through the connection. There was a rumble near the blocked-up door, and the thought that the X-men were coming for her gave her comfort.

However, another thought floated through her mind, one that scared her.

_Charles?_ she thought.

_Yes?_

_I'm cold...I...I think I'm going into shock..._

* * *

Alex forced himself onto his feet. He felt dizzy, but he still managed to dodge the next chunk of metal that was sent hurtling towards him. Magneto was still standing there, almost looking bored. Angel had appeared behind him, her arms crossed. There was another teen standing next to her, choppy brown hair falling into his eyes.

_Alex? You need to get to Moira. Sean's been injured. He's alive, but they need back-up. _

_What about Hank and Lorna?_ Alex thought.

_They're there, but I want you there as well._

He had to stop as a piece of metal nearly decapitated him.

_Professor, you might want to see what I'm seeing right now-_

_She's dying Alex!_

He stopped. Alex put a hand against the wall behind him.

_Hank's trying to get to her, but he needs help_, the Professor thought, _Alex, you need to get there as fast as possible!_

Alex glared at the Brotherhood members in front of him. If Moira was dying, then it was time to stop playing nice.

_I'm on my way_, he thought.

He gathered as much red light as he could and threw it at the ceiling. Alex saw the beams begin to give way, but he didn't stick around to see the full effect. He took off running down the hall, trying to remember just where Moira and Sean were.

There was a noise behind him, and the ground rumbled. Alex stumbled, but he kept running. He didn't have time to bother with that right now. He turned another corner and saw that Lorna and Hank had propped Sean up against the wall. True to the Professor's word, he seemed injured but not seriously so.

Mystique and Riptide were on the ground. Alex saw that Hank had gotten a few swipes in on Mystique, but the metal gun lying near her told him that Lorna had gotten in the knock that had taken her out.

Lorna was standing in front of the blocked up doorway, her eyes concerned. Hank caught his eye.

"Havok, we need to start shifting this stuff," he said.

"It looks like there's a lot of metal in it," Alex said, looking at Lorna, "Can you?"

"Not without bringing down the entire doorway," Lorna said, her voice frustrated, "I tried it a minute ago. The whole thing starts to fall apart."

"Damn," Alex said.

He moved towards the collapsed doorway and began shifting some of the rubble. Hank and Lorna joined him, working as quickly as they could. The alarms were still blaring, and it was only a matter of time until the reinforcements arrived.

Sweat built up on his brow. It seemed like there was no end of the debris. He glanced over at Sean, feeling concern well up in him. He wished that he would just wake up. He knew that it couldn't be good that he was out for this long.

However, the Professor had used the word 'dying' when it came to Moira. What had happened?

_Mystique stabbed her._

The thought came out of nowhere. Alex nearly shouted in surprise, but he managed to stop himself at the last minute. He didn't know when the Professor had entered his mind, but his discomfort at the sudden invasion was overridden by the message.

_She what?_ Alex thought.

_I've already said it,_ the Professor thought, _Last I checked she thought that she might be going into shock. If she is, then Hank can't properly treat her until he gets inside. _

_I've told her to lay on her side and to try to elevate her head,_ Hank thought, _That's not going to do much. I can't help her if she stops breathing, and that's a very distinct possibility._

_There was a lot of blood on that knife, _Lorna thought.

Alex didn't know when Hank had entered the conversation, or how the Professor had linked them all so quickly, but it only made him move the debris faster. He didn't pretend to know just what shock was, but the idea it could cause her to stop breathing was all that he needed to know.

The ground rumbled and the debris shifted. Alex looked over his shoulder and saw Magneto, along with Angel and the unknown teen.

_Guys_, Alex thought.

Lorna and Hank looked up. They stopped and drew closer to each other.

"That was quite a display back there Summers," Magneto said, his voice dry, "But, yet again, you're in our way."


	43. Chapter 43

Alex straightened, his head racing. The alarms were still going off, and every noise seemed like running feet. Sean was injured, and Moira was going into shock. Magneto was staring at him with a smirk on his lips, and Hank and Lorna were waiting for his move, to see what he would do.

_Lorna, stand by and prepare to cover me,_ he thought, _Hank, keep digging._

He held out his hands.

"Don't do this," he said.

Magneto's brow furrowed. Alex couldn't let him speak though. Not just yet. What he was about to do was going to be difficult, and even as the words formed on his tongue his pride rebelled.

"Listen, you've got what you came for," Alex said, "You've started an incident, and you've put the fear of mutants into the people here. I can't stop that. There's no point in trying."

He gestured to the doorway.

"Moira came with us," Alex said, "Right now she's in there, bleeding to death because Mystique stabbed her. We need to get her out, and we don't have time to fight you. Every second counts for her. I don't care about the rest, I honestly don't."

The man with the choppy brown hair frowned and Angel tilted her head. Magneto's brow relaxed a little.

"And Mystique and Riptide?" he asked.

Alex blinked. He looked over at their unconscious forms.

"To be honest, I'd forgotten about them," he said, "Go ahead. Take your people. Just let us take ours."

There was a tense moment. He could see the uncertainty in Magneto's face, the suspicion.

"Why were you all even here in the first place?" Magneto asked.

Alex wanted to scream.

"It doesn't matter," he said.

"Seeing how you want us to just walk away, I rather think it does," Magneto said, "What was Moira doing that was so important that you brought her onto the field?"

His eyes flickered to Lorna. He wished he could have the Professor there, telling him whether or not to tell Magneto about their mission. Magneto didn't know about Essex Industries, or at least Alex didn't think that he did. Would that help or hinder them?

No, he couldn't tell him. Not when it put everything they had worked for in jeopardy. If Magneto heard that a government official had been involved in mutant experimentation, he'd assume that the entire government was involved. Their war would no longer be fought in secret then, forced onto the streets in a world that still didn't understand them.

"We just wanted some codes," Alex said, "That's all."

"That's all?" the man with the brown hair said, "Not in a CIA facility it isn't."

"Moira-" Alex said.

"Was doing something rather important," Magneto said, "Why were you here?"

"I told you!"

"Not really," Angel said.

Alex swallowed. He knew that Lorna was tensing behind him. He could see that they were preparing for a fight. His pride once again welled up, but Alex thought of Moira, bleeding to death on the other side of the doorway.

He clenched his fists and swallowed again. He knew it was a desperate gamble, but he couldn't believe that Magneto would leave someone to die just because he was suspicious of them. No, that was wrong. Magneto could do it. He just didn't think Erik could.

The part of him that was still fifteen sang out, thinking about the man that had once been the Professor's friend. Surely something was left of him?

"Erik," he said, "Please."

Magneto's eyes widened in surprise. Alex took another breath, hating the pleading in his tone.

"Please," he repeated.

Magneto's face relaxed and, for the first time in years, Alex could see beyond the helmet. He thought of the man who played chess with the Professor, who had once helped them train in the very halls that Alex now called home.

Then his face hardened. His hand flicked out and metal panels from the wall were stripped away. They hurtled towards Alex, and he put up his arms to block them. They stopped at the last minute, trembling in the air.

Lorna got up and stood beside him, her hands stretched out and her eyes glowing green. The panels continued to tremble, caught between their power. He knew she wouldn't be able to hold him long. Magneto's brow furrowed again: he'd never fought Lorna before.

Alex saw the man with the brown hair race towards Lorna. He barreled into him, shoving him to the ground. The man shouted and pounded his fist on the floor. The ceiling began to rumble, and two more beams fell down. Alex looked over at Hank, seeing him struggle with what remained of the rubble. They were running out of time.

Footsteps raced down the hallway. Guards were coming in, their guns leveled at them. Alex pushed himself up and sent a flurry of light their way, aiming at their feet. He heard screams, but the man beneath him was struggling. He shifted his grip so that he could keep him down.

Alex felt arms wrap around his neck, pulling him away. Angel. He clawed behind him, and he felt his fingers dig into her face. He was wearing gloves though: his hands wouldn't do that much damage.

He continued to flail out, and he heard her cry and the man got up. His fist connected with Alex's stomach, and Alex dropped to the ground. Gasping for breath he kicked out, tripping him. Alex turned around and punched Angel in the face before kicking her away.

Hands gripped him and he summoned up more light in his hands. It was a low intensity setting, but it blasted the man with the brown hair into the next room. He turned and directed the next bolt at Angel, but she ducked and the blast hit the wall. Alex shot out another blast. This one hit her and pushed her down.

A bullet whizzed past his head and Alex ducked. The guards had opened fire. Lorna had dropped to the ground, pushing herself towards Hank. Magneto waved his hand, lazily deflecting the bullets back. The guards cried out and fell, shot by their own bullets.

He turned to Lorna and Hank his face contemplative. For a moment Alex dared to hope that he was reconsidering. Then the rubble in the pile shifted, the metal debris flying outwards. One piece hit Hank, sending him into the wall. Lorna managed to stop the ones coming at her and reached out her other hands to stop the rest of the pile. It was too late though: the pile had already begun collapsing in on itself, whittling away their hard work.

"You sonuvabitch!" Alex screamed, "What the hell did she ever do to you!"

Magneto turned slowly. Alex couldn't see his expression. He didn't care anymore. He raced forward and pushed Magneto to the ground, his hands blindly flailing for anything that he could use to hurt him.

* * *

_Moira? Love?_ Charles thought.

He heard the desperation in his tone, but Moira's thoughts were getting weaker. His hands gripped the armrests of the pilot's chair in the Blackbird. He pushed harder, letting his links to the X-men weaken as he focused on Moira's. He could see the room through her eyes: hazy and filled with rubble.

_Charles..._Moira thought.

_Hold on,_ he thought, _Just hold on. They're coming._

He poured as much strength as he could into her. He needed to keep in contact with her, get her to continue speaking to him to stave off shock. Their link was precious, and he knew that it was faltering.

_Charles I..._she thought.

_Yes?_

_Rahne's favorite color is purple,_ she thought.

He blinked. At first he thought that it was a stray thought, her synapses firing off randomly. That didn't mean anything though. Not once they got her decent medical attention. Everything was going to be fine then.

_It's a lovely color._

_No...I want...you need to know that_, Moira thought, _She wants...for her birthday. For gifts. For...when you're getting her new clothes..._

With a sick feeling in his stomach, Charles suddenly realized that her synapses weren't misfiring.

_You're going to be there to take care of that._

_I wanted us to be a family_, she thought.

_I want that too_, Charles thought,_ I want that so much. And it's going to happen. May, right?_

_I love you Charles. I love you so much. _

_I love you too,_ Charles thought, _But hang on. Hang on for me, for Rahne. You're strong Moira. You can do this. You're going to come back, and everything's going to be fine. We're going to get married in a few months._

A weak, gasping laugh reached his ears.

_You were the only man I'd ever...consider marrying_, she thought, _Who else could be as stubborn as me? I think I knew...when you told me...when you asked for another chance. I think I knew then._

Tears coursed down his cheeks.

_You came back,_ he thought, _You're the only one who's ever come back...don't leave me now. _

_I...Charles..._

Where were the X-men? Why weren't they helping her, why wasn't anyone coming?

_Hold on,_ he pleaded, _Hold on._

* * *

At once Magneto pushed him to the ground. A fist connected with his jaw before a hand slammed his face into the wall. He felt his nose break and blood clouded his vision as he tried to get his bearings.

"Havok!" Lorna screamed.

"Get Moira!" he yelled.

He sent out a blast, but Magneto moved past it. Another blow after blow rained down on his face. The swelling was making it hard to see. As Magneto drew closer, Alex gathered up more light. This time the blast hit him, forcing him backwards.

Alex stood in front of Lorna and Hank, the light in his hands pulsating as brightly as possible.

"Come on," Alex snarled, "Just try it."

More guards came around the corner. Alex risked a glance behind him and Magneto moved forwards. He turned his attention in front of him and sent out the best low intensity blast he could muster. He couldn't kill him. No matter what, he couldn't kill him. He needed to remember that.

The guards began shooting as Magneto ducked. Alex expected one of the bullets to hit him, but the guards suddenly stopped and stood still. At once they ran to Lorna and Hank, pulling the debris away. Magneto grimaced.

"Charles," he said.

_Alex, hurry!_

_Sure thing_, Alex thought.

He gathered more light into his hands and sent Magneto into the wall. He heard the rubble get pulled away, heard Lorna's gasp and Hank's cry. He didn't trust himself to look around. All he could do was try to gather more light in his hands.

"I can do this all day asshole," Alex said, glaring at Magneto.

"I don't think you can."

"Wanna test that?" Alex hissed.

_Alex, they have Moira. Lorna's carrying Sean. Go!_

He took a step backwards, sending out as many rings as he could. Then he ran after Lorna and Hank, not looking back. The alarm was still going off, and he knew that reinforcements were on the way. They needed to get to the Blackbird.

Sean looked like he was fine, although his head was still bloody. Alex wiped away some of the blood on his own face before he drew level with Hank. Moira was in his arms, her eyes dilated and her side soaked in blood. One of her hands was still clenched around the floppy disk.

Alex took it from her, fighting the urge to throw it away. He couldn't: not after what had happened.

"How is she?" he asked.

Hank swallowed.

"It doesn't look good," he said, "I don't know if I can...I don't think there's any way..."

Alex snarled.

"Is she still breathing?" he demanded.

"Yes-"

"Then don't you dare give up!"


	44. Chapter 44

There was a knock on the door. Scott bit his cheek in irritation. Warren was downstairs with the chess club, which meant that Scott had finally found some peace and quiet to finish his book. He had no idea who it was knocking on his door, but he wished that they'd go away.

They knocked again. Scott rolled his eyes, but he didn't look up from his book.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Rahne."

This time he did look up. He'd expected it to be Ororo or Alex. Rahne never ventured this far into the Institute, despite the fact that she was going to be the stepdaughter of the guy who owned it soon.

"Come in," he said.

Rahne pushed open the door and slipped inside. She closed it, looking around his room.

"You know you're in big trouble if you're caught in the boy's dorm at this time of night, right?" Scott asked.

"I know," Rahne said.

She clambered on top of the bed and crossed her legs under her. He raised his eyebrows and put down the book. Rahne was a stickler for the rules, even more so than he was. The idea of her knowingly breaking a rule was a strange one.

"So why are you here?" he asked.

"I couldn't find the Professor," Rahne said.

Scott made a face.

"Well I don't know where he is," he said.

"I couldn't find Alex either," she said.

Although he had the feeling that Rahne was getting to something, he just shrugged.

"My brother goes out a lot," he said.

"Or Sean or Hank," Rahne said.

He shrugged again.

"Okay, the X-men are out on a mission," Scott said, "Kind of weird that the Professor's with them, but that's nothing new."

Rahne nodded, but she'd begun chewing on her lip. It always felt strange to talk about the X-men out loud. While Ororo and Warren didn't know that they existed, both he and Rahne did. Scott figured that, as Alex's brother, he'd been destined to figure it out.

Rahne had been straight up rescued by the X-men. If he was going to be specific then she'd been rescued by Alex and her mother, but she'd seen the uniforms, seen the plane, and Scott had no doubt that she'd drawn her own conclusions. She'd often followed Moira when she went to talk about technology repairs and similar matters.

A small detail niggled in the back of his head.

"Why were you looking for all of them anyway?" he asked.

"I wanted to know if they knew where my mom was," Rahne said.

Scott paused. Rahne began to pull at the blanket.

"I wanted to tell her about my dress for the wedding," Rahne said, "She gave me three pictures, and I picked one out."

She pulled out a picture from her pocket. Scott briefly caught an image of a frilly, purple dress.

"She said that it was important that I tell her soon, because she needed to order it," Rahne said.

Scott rested his chin on his hands.

"But you can't find your mom?" he asked.

"No," Rahne said, "I'm worried, because she said she'd be out for a while this afternoon, but she should be back by now."

She tucked the picture back into her pocket.

"I tried sniffing her out, but there's a big door at the bottom of the basement that I can't get through," she said, "It's locked, and that's where her scent ends. I think it might go to the hanger, but I don't have the code for that."

Scott suddenly realized where she was going. He coughed.

"Rahne, they keep those doors locked for a reason," he said.

"I know," Rahne said, "And I don't want to touch anything. I just wanna go to the hanger and wait for her."

Scott shifted.

"I know that's all you want," he said, "But um, Rahne, even I don't do that."

"Why not?" Rahne asked.

"Alex told me not to worry," Scott said, "He always comes back. Your mom's going to come back too."

"I know," Rahne said, her voice impatient, "But I want to be there when she does. She doesn't usually go out like this."

Scott prepared to tell Rahne no, but then he reconsidered. She was young, but he'd been allowed in when he was only a little older than she was. He was allowed to be there if he wanted to, and Alex was his brother. Moira was Rahne's mother. The leader of the X-men was going to be Rahne's father. Why shouldn't she be allowed into the hanger?

"Okay, but it's your fault if you get into trouble, okay?" Scott said.

Rahne grinned and slid off of the bed.

"How can I get in trouble?" she asked, "You're coming with me."

He just shook his head. Even if the Professor and Moira didn't want her in the hanger, he doubted that she would get into trouble. She had a smile that could get away with murder.

Scott put a jacket on over his pajamas and headed out. Rahne tailed behind him, looking around curiously as they went down to the lower levels. Since Rahne's mutation couldn't affect her enviornment she'd never seen the inside of the Danger Room. She probably only vaguely remembered the garage and the hanger from her trip to the Institute.

It wasn't a terribly long walk from the Institute to the hanger, but the late hour made it seem even quieter than usual. Rahne walked next to him, her hands clasped behind her back.

"What were you reading?" she asked.

"Just a book on lock-picking," Scott said.

"Lock-picking?" Rahne asked, looking aghast, "But only bad guys do that."

"Come on," Scott laughed, "My brother probably does that all the time when he's doing secret stuff with the X-men."

Rahne frowned.

"But still," she said.

"Hey, bad guys know how to lock doors too," Scott said.

The two of them found the entrance to the hanger easily. It just looked like it was a big facilities building, which is what they told the rest of the school what it was. Only the people who'd had to be flown in knew it was actually a hanger.

He keyed in the code to the door, and the lights came on. Scott didn't walk into the main room though, instead going into a small room on the side that he knew the team kept equipment in.

"Why can't we wait in there?" Rahne said.

"The plane kicks up too much wind when it lands," Scott said, sitting down on one of the benches, "So we'll wait here if you don't wanna get knocked down. There's a window there so you can see when they do land."

He gestured with his hand. Rahne's eyes followed it, and she nodded.

"Okay," she said.

She sat down. After a minute she took the picture of the dress out of her pocket again.

"Do you think it's pretty?" Rahne asked.

"I guess," Scott said.

She frowned and looked down at the picture. He couldn't believe what he was about to say, he was thirteen after all, but he hated to see Rahne's disappointment.

"It's really pretty," Scott said.

"Really?" Rahne asked.

"Yeah," Scott sighed, "And I think that your mom's going to like that you chose that one."

"I think that she wanted me to pick it," Rahne said, "It's purple, and she knows that that's my favorite color."

"So you think she planted the dress?" Scott asked.

"Maybe, but I like it, so it's okay," Rahne said, "I'm glad we like the same dress. I want to look pretty for her at her wedding."

Scott shifted.

"Rahne, you know she loves you, right?" he asked.

"Don't worry," Rahne said.

She looked down at the picture again.

"I know," she said, "I just want to be pretty for her."

There was a grating noise. Scott looked out the window and saw the Blackbird descending. Rahne jumped to her feet, still holding the picture of the dress.

"Can I go out now?" she asked.

"Give it a minute," Scott laughed.

They waited as the Blackbird landed. Rahne looked up at Scott, her eyes shining.

"Now?" she asked.

"Now," Scott said.

Rahne pushed the door open and ran out onto the hanger floor. Scott walked after her. He'd never done that for his brother. Every now and then he'd seen the plane back, but he'd never waited for him. Alex had always said that he'd come back, that Scott didn't need to wait for him. He trusted him.

Scott watched as Rahne came towards the walkway. The walkway hadn't lowered yet, which he thought was a little strange. He figured that they were usually pretty eager to disembark, but it had been a while since he'd been down there.

When the walkway finally did lower he saw Rahne's brow furrow. She took a few steps closer, each one slower than the last. Although she was still some distance away Rahne stopped, tilting her head in confusion.

Scott saw her hesitance and drew level with her. Alex walked off the walkway, dried blood smeared over his face. Something was wrong with his nose: Scott could see some sort of splint there.

He turned towards them and his eyes widened, his lips moving wordlessly for a moment. Finally his expression became stormy and his eyes clouded over.

"Scott," he said, "What's Rahne doing here?"

Scott could feel his old doubts creeping back. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for Rahne to come into the hanger after all.

"I just-" he said.

"Get her out!" Alex yelled.

Scott cringed. His brother had never yelled at him like that. He looked down at Rahne, who'd suddenly gone rigid. Her nostrils were flaring and she started to shake her head, her grip on the picture loosening.

"That smell..." she whispered.

"Rahne?" Scott said.

"No," Rahne said.

She let go of the picture and rushed forwards. Scott wanted to call out to her, tell her that she wasn't supposed to go on the Blackbird, but the desperation in her eyes and jerky movements stopped him.

Panic flared in Alex's eyes as Rahne came closer, mixed with something else. His brother bent down and picked her up, hoisting her into the air. Rahne struggled as Alex tried to pull her away from the Blackbird.

"Let me go!" Rahne screamed, "Mom! Mom!"

Scott froze as Rahne's struggles became more frantic. Something was wrong. Her cries were pained. Alex would have let Rahne see her mother if she was screaming like that and everything was alright. He looked at Alex, saw the anguish in his face.

"No! Mom!"

Her screams became less and less coherent, less human. Fur began to grow on her hands and her fingers turned into claws. She blindly lashed out at Alex, her claws scratching at his face.

Alex didn't even flinch.

"Let me go!"

Alex shook his head and continued pulling her away.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"Rahne," Alex whispered.

"Alex. Let her down."

Scott watched as the Professor wheeled out of the Blackbird. He looked exhausted, and his clothes and face were flecked with blood. It was his eyes that scared Scott the most though: they were flat and expressionless.

Alex closed his eyes. He released Rahne as the Professor reached them. Rahne looked up at him, her eyes searching and pained. Her screams hadn't stopped, they had just changed slightly. Scott could just barely make out one word: no.

She began to move past the Professor, but he caught her in his arms.

"Rahne," the Professor said.

"No," Rahne said.

"Rahne-"

"No!" Rahne screamed.

The Professor pulled her in front of him. Scott watched numbly as Rahne went limp, her screams becoming whimpers. The Professor took a shuddering breath, his hands on her shoulders.

"Please..." she said.

The Professor bowed his head, his own words choked.

"She's gone Rahne," he said, "She's gone."

Rahne screamed again, the sound ending in a sob. The cry echoed around the hanger, imprinting itself in the depths of Scott's mind.


	45. Chapter 45

Alex felt like the nightmare wouldn't end, like the waves were sloshing around his chest and threatening to drown him. Moira was dead. It was difficult to focus on anything other than that, difficult to do anything other than stumble around blindly.

He'd flown the Blackbird back to the Institute, but it was almost a straight shot from where they were. His nose had burned like fire, and all he'd been able to hear were the frantic sounds of Hank trying to stop Moira's bleeding as they feed to the sounds of him trying to get her breathing again, trying to get her heart started, and then trying to accept that she was gone.

At first he hadn't known why they had gone silent. Then knowledge that she'd died had hit Alex like a bolt of lightning. She wasn't supposed to die. She was supposed to make it, to pull through and defy the odds. A deathly silence had descended over the Blackbird and, for a moment, it seemed like the world had stopped.

It hadn't though. Sean had a concussion and, as they had later discovered, a greenstick fracture in his arm. It would take a long time to heal. Hank had forced himself away from Moira's lifeless form to focus on his other patients.

Alex had struggled to focus on the route to the Institute, struggled not to look back. Hank had sat next to him and splinted his nose. His breathing had been stuttering, almost as though he'd been unsure of whether or not he should continue to do so. He hadn't cleaned the blood from his face though, had seemed to be doing everything he could to go through the motions.

He knew that Hank had never had a patient die on him before. He knew that that was traumatic, but he had a hard time sparing any sympathy for him. He had a hard time sparing any sympathy for anyone, including himself. Alex had fought to keep his mind blank, to force away the realization that they had lost one of their own. If he started thinking like that, then he'd crash the plane.

It was only when they landed and he'd looked behind him that the full horror of the situation had dawned on him. Lorna was staring straight ahead, the tears running silently down her cheeks and her hands fisted into the cloth of the seat. Sean was still unconscious, stable but oblivious to what was happening. Alex envied him his unconscious form, but dreaded his waking hours. Hank just sat with his head bowed. Everything in him spoke of defeat.

The worst was the Professor. His wheelchair was next to Moira's body. One of hand was gently caressing her face. The other had pulled her head up, his own head bowed down so that his forehead could touch hers.

Alex just stared at the two of them. Moira's eyes were still open, staring without seeing. Why hadn't someone closed them? The rest was a mess of blood spreading out, although most of it was already dark and clotted. He saw that a defibrillator discarded on the ground, testifying to the moment when Hank had given up.

And as he looked, the Professor just held her close, his own eyes closed. Alex didn't want to think of what was going through the Professor's mind, but he couldn't help it. Had he been in her mind when she'd passed? What had they said. He'd planned a future with Moira, planned on being a husband to her and a father for her daughter. Now it was all gone.

_"We need to radio for help!"_

_"There's no time Katherine!"_

Alex began to feel sick, as though the air itself were poisoned. He looked desperately around him at his fellow teammates, wanting to say something to them, but he couldn't do it.

He'd gotten out of the Blackbird as quickly as possible, only to find that things could, despite appearances, get worse. Rahne and Scott were there. What was she doing there? What had possessed Scott to bring her there?

If he'd been able to think clearly, if Rahne's mother hadn't been lying dead in the back of the plane, then he would have realized that Rahne would have searched for her mother. She would have been curious about what was happening, why her mother wasn't there. Scott, as her friend, would of course have wanted to help her.

Instead he'd shouted, desperate to get her out before she realized what was going on. It was too late though. Rahne was a feral, she could smell blood. Alex didn't know if she knew just whose blood it was. It was reasonable to assume that her thoughts were automatically of her mother though, a worried, frightened child. After that it was only a matter of him trying to make sure that she didn't see her mother's corpse.

The Professor had stopped her though, his words halting and strange. Alex had watched Rahne collapse to the floor. The confident, funny little girl that he had gotten to know was gone. Instead he saw the child that had curled up against a mob, her eyes frightened and feral.

The Professor gently put his hand on her head. Her tears stopped and she stilled.

"What did you-?" Alex began.

"I put her to sleep," the Professor said.

His words fell like lead against Alex's head.

"Put her in her room," the Professor said.

"What do you want me to-?" Alex began.

The Professor didn't wait for him to finish. He just pushed his wheelchair away and towards the door, his eyes unfocused. Alex watched him go, feeling the water rising higher and higher.

"Alex?"

He looked over. Scott was standing there, his whole face trembling. Alex took in a shuddering breath. He couldn't fall apart. Not now. Not with his brother watching him, looking at him for salvation.

_"Take care of your brother, alright?"_

He stepped forward and enveloped his brother in a hug. Alex heard him begin crying, felt the tears on his blood and filth encrusted uniform. He wanted to cry and scream too, to tell anyone listening that it wasn't fair, that they should have been able to save her.

Alex took a shuddering breath and held Scott tighter. He needed to get it together. He knew that the Professor wasn't in any condition to take charge at the moment. He'd talk to him in the morning when he'd had some time to process what was happening. There were things that they needed to take care of, practical things that couldn't wait.

He looked back at Rahne. Lorna was stumbling out of the plane, one of her hands holding onto the bars that lowered the walkway. She knelt down next to Rahne before looking up and catching Alex's eye.

"Take her to her room," Alex said, "And stay with her. She's going to need someone she trusts when she wakes up."

Lorna swallowed and nodded. She picked up Rahne, even though she was getting big. Alex knew that he could count on her. He gave her a brief nod before looking down at his brother.

"Scott, I need you to go back to the Institute with Lorna," he said.

Scott pulled away and looked at him through his red-tinged goggles.

"Alex," he said.

"I know Scotty boy, I know," Alex said, "But I need you to go with Lorna. I've got..."

He looked back at the Blackbird.

"I've got to do things," he said.

Scott nodded and pulled away. Alex watched his brother catch up with Lorna. He had to be strong for them. He couldn't crumble, couldn't let anyone see what he was feeling. He couldn't grieve.

Alex turned on his heel and walked back into the Blackbird. Hank was where he'd left him. His eyes slid to the floppy disk that was resting on dashboard of the Blackbird, some of Moira's blood still staining it.

He forced himself to walk up and take it. Moira had died so that Stryker wouldn't have that information. He couldn't let it go. He tucked it into his pocket and then looked over his shoulder at Hank.

"Hank," Alex said.

Hank didn't look up.

"Hank, we can't just leave her here," Alex said, "We need to move her."

Hank looked up at this. He got up laboriously, his hands shaking. The wrapped Moira up as best as they could and put her in one of the cars. They had to go back and retrieve Sean. They didn't say a word the whole time and, in a way, that made it easier. They couldn't afford to feel anything.

Alex drove back to the Institute. Alex and Hank moved Moira into her room. It was the only place that they could think of where she wouldn't be disturbed. Too many students were in and out of the infirmary and someone always found a way into Hank's lab.

"We need to lock the room up," Alex said, "We need to...we need to find her keys."

Hank nodded and began to search. Alex knelt down and opened her vanity table. There was nothing in there but a few pieces of homemade jewlery that Rahne must have made for her.

He forced himself to turn away. He walked over to her desk and opened a drawer. He saw her keys at once. Alex reached to pick them up, feeling relieved that he didn't have to go through her things anymore.

As he picked up her keys, he saw her planner. The page was turned to May, and he saw that the third was circled. The sick feeling began to return to him. She'd finally picked a date.

_"Alex...Summers is it?"_

_"Yes. Who are you? Where am I?"_

_"You're in May Park, Minnesota. I'm afraid there was an accident?"_

_"Where are my parents? My brother?"_

_"...I'm afraid that you were the only one they found."_

_Alex slammed the desk drawer shut. _

"I found her keys," he said, his voice clipped.

They managed to find her keys and locked the room. They went back down to the garage and took Sean to the Infirmary. Hank properly splinted Sean's arm and sat down, his breaths harsh.

"Is there anything else that you need to do for him?" Alex asked.

Hank shook his head.

"Then get yourself cleaned up and get some sleep," Alex said.

"I just lost a patient," Hank snapped, "And not just any patient: Moira. How the hell do you think that I'm going to sleep?"

He was at a loss for words. How had he managed to say that? How was he supposed to tell him to get some sleep, to rise the next morning like he'd done every morning? How were any of them ever supposed to go on with their normal lives ever again?

_"You sonuvabitch! What the hell did she ever do to you!"_

A thought solidified in him, propping his makeshift strength up. Alex gave him a level look.

"Don't be a dumbass. You didn't lose anyone Hank," Alex said.

"What-?"

"She was taken," Alex said, "And we both know whose fault it was."

Hank's eyes widened slightly. Alex looked over at Sean.

"I'm going to tell you something, and I'm going to tell Sean the same thing when he wakes up," he said, "Tonight, Moira died because of two people who should've known better. They're to blame."

He laughed, the sound alien to him.

"Mystique and Magneto murdered her," he said, "And no matter what happens over the next few years Hank, I want you to remember that."


	46. Chapter 46

The wind rushed up to meet his face as he was whipped away from the warmth of the fire. The cold seemed to rush past him, leaving his mind behind him. It whipped away the tears that were gathering in his eyes. Scott clutched tightly onto the straps of his parachute, remembering that he had to hold on. He was falling, and he was terrified, but he had to hold on.

His brother drew level with him. Alex reached out and grabbed the parachute strap, pulling it hard. Scott was yanked upwards, his stomach flip-flopping. Alex was smiling at him though, so everything had to be okay. It was going to be alright. Alex had promised.

There was an explosion behind him. Scott turned and saw the plane shatter into pieces, firey debris falling from it. His parents, they were still inside. A scream began and died in his throat, whipped away by the gut-wrenching fear that he was feeling and the cold wind.

He looked for his brother, looked for the comfort that his presence would bring. Instead he saw a piece of the plane hit Alex's parachute. Flames blossomed on the fabric, beginning to consume it.

Alex began to fall, faster and faster.

"Alex!" Scott screamed.

This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be losing everyone. Not his parents, not Alex. Alex had said everything was going to be alright. He wouldn't lie. The night sky filled with pieces of the burning plane as his brother continued to spiral further and further down-

Scott woke up. He curled on his side, breathing sharply. He had to remind himself that it was just a dream, that that had happened years ago. He wasn't falling through the air, his parents' deaths behind him and his brother's in front of him. Scott was at the Institute and everything was fine.

Then he remembered that no, that wasn't true. Moira was dead. Looking back, he had no idea how he'd even gotten to sleep. If he turned his head he could see that Warren was in his bed, his wings tucked underneath him. Scott couldn't even remember him coming in. Had he really been that deeply asleep? Maybe it was just that he'd laid in bed so long that his body's instincts had eventually taken over. He didn't know.

He bit his lip. Scott remembered the first morning that he'd woken up after he'd been found. He'd believed that his entire family was dead. There had been a brief, blissful moment after he woke up where he was just confused where he was. Then he knew.

Over the next few days Scott had learned that going to sleep after a death was the most merciful thing you could do. It was also the most torturous. For the most part, he'd been able to forget that he'd lost everyone when he'd been asleep. When he woke up, however, it was the worst feeling that he'd ever had, having to remember all the details.

Scott curled further in on himself. He had no idea how she'd died, just that she'd died with the X-men. Scott supposed that the how of it wasn't important, just the fact that she was dead. The woman who helped him come home to his brother was gone.

His thoughts went to Rahne. The last he'd seen her, she'd been with Lorna. He hoped that Lorna was still with her. Her screams were in the back of his head, and they scared him to think of. Rahne had lost the first person she'd ever met who'd wanted her.

He didn't want to think about that. He looked over at the clock and saw that it was almost time for his first class. He'd almost slept right through it. It was odd to think that there were going to be classes that day.

He got up and began searching for his clothes. Scott could still remember the anger that accompanied the fact that, no matter what he felt, the world kept spinning. Meals came and went, people wanted him to do things, there were things to do. It folded in with the sleep. Why couldn't the world just stop for a little while?

Feeling suddenly tired he walked over to Warren and shook him.

"Five more minutes," Warren mumbled.

"There are only fifteen minutes until class," Scott said, "We've already missed breakfast."

Warren moaned and got up.

"Why didn't you set the alarm?" he said.

_Because Moira died last night,_ Scott thought, _I didn't give a damn about the alarm. _

He just shrugged.

"I was tired," he said, "Now get a move on."

Scott grabbed his clothes and started getting changed. It didn't take him too long to finish getting dressed. Warren finished quickly too and began looking around the room for his books.

"Scott, I can't find my geography book," he said.

_Who cares?_ Scott thought, I_t's stupid that you can't find stuff that you knew you'd need when people are dead. You're stupid. You're childish. _

"I think you left it in your closet," Scott said.

Warren opened the door to his closet.

"Oh, yeah. Here it is," he said.

He picked it up.

"Let's get going," he said, "Miss Mahn's gonna have a heart attack if we're late."

_Don't joke about that_, Scott thought, P_eople really do have heart attacks you know. It actually kills them. _

"Sure," he said.

They walked down the hall together. He saw a few of the students hurrying around, trying to get to their own classes. Scott walked into his and sat by Warren. Ororo was already there, and she stuck her tongue out at them.

"Sleepy heads," she said.

"Scott didn't set the alarm," Warren said.

"That's weird," Ororo said, "Aren't you Mr. Stickler?"

He shrugged again and opened his book, trying to find the chapter that they were supposed to be studying. Ororo tilted her head as Miss Mahn came into the room. Her face was pale and she walked next to her desk.

"Class," she said, her voice low, "I'm afraid that I have some bad news."

He gripped the sides of his desk.

"Last night Miss MacTaggert was involved in a car accident," she said.

He heard Ororo and Warren gasp. A car accident. They were calling it a car aciddent. He supposed that it was accurate enough. It wasn't as though they could tell them what had really happened. Scott didn't know how else they could explain her death.

"There's no easy way to say this, but she died last night," Miss Mahn said.

He took a deep breath. The rest of the class was beginning to murmur now. Ororo had her hands over her face and Warren was staring straight ahead, as though he expected Miss Mahn to break into a grin and tell them that it was a joke.

"Classes are cancelled," she said, "If any of you...if any of you need to talk, then we're all available."

The class continued to murmur. A few of the students got up and walked up to Miss Mahn, their words high pitched and chattery. Scott looked down at his book, trying to block it out.

"You knew."

He looked up. Ororo was staring at him with wide, almost angry eyes.

"You knew she was dead," she hissed, "That's why you didn't set your alarm. You were told last night, weren't you?"

Scott returned her look, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Hey, Ororo," Warren said, his voice choked, "Don't be that way, okay?"

"Warren, Alex told him," Ororo said, "I'm sure of it. I don't know how long he's known, but he's known."

"Ororo, don't be ridiculous. Scott didn't-"

"I knew," Scott said.

Warren stared at him. Ororo's eyes narrowed.

"And you didn't tell us?" she said.

"Just how do you suggest I should've done that?" Scott said.

His voice came off harsh and annoyed. He couldn't help it.

"Or when?" he said, "The second you woke up? When I walked into the classroom?"

"Why did you even come to class if you knew?" Warren asked.

Scott slammed his book shut.

"What do you suggest I should've done Warren?" he said, "Lain in bed all day? Stared at the window? What?"

He could feel a lump forming in his throat.

"I came to class because I didn't know what the hell else I should do," Scott said, "And now I don't have that."

Scott snatched his book before jumping down from his desk.

"So yeah Ororo, I did know," he said, "And so does Rahne, so don't get mad at her for not telling you immediately. But then again, I don't think you'll be seeing her today. She didn't look so great the last time I saw her."

"Scott, I'm sorry," Ororo said, "I didn't mean...I'm sorry..."

He wanted to shout at her, to say something nasty back. The words caught in his throat.

"So am I," he said.

He turned and hurried out of the classroom, ignoring Miss Mahn's look of surprise.

"Scott-!" Ororo said.

He ignored her. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew that he had to get away from his friends. The other classes were letting out, the students walking around in a surprised daze. So everyone knew now.

Scott pushed his way up to his room. He wasn't looking where he was going, and almost slammed into an opening door. He stopped just in time.

"Jesus Scotty boy, I nearly ran you over," Alex said.

"I'll be more careful," he said.

Alex gave him a long look.

"Come in here," he said.

Scott didn't argue. Hadn't he been looking for someone to tell him what to do? He followed him and Alex shut the door behind him. Scott let the book fall out of his hand and onto the floor. His brother sighed.

"You shouldn't have gone to class today," Alex said.

"I didn't know what else to do," Scott said.

His brother sighed again and nodded.

"Right," he said, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I had to...we had to make arrangements..."

"For what?" Scott said.

His brother leaned against the door.

"The funeral," Alex said.

The words were short and sharp, as though Alex didn't want to acknowledge that he'd said them. Scott closed his eyes.

"Alex, Miss Mahn said Miss Moira died in a car crash," he said, "How did she really die?"

There was a long pause. After a while Scott opened his eyes. His brother was giving him a defeated look.

"The Brotherhood killed her while she was trying to help us," Alex said, "They killed her twice really: once when they stabbed her, and once when they wouldn't let us get to her until it was too late."

His brother walked up to him and put his hands on Scott's shoulders.

"I know what this feels like," Alex said, "We've both been here before, haven't we?"

Scott's eyes filled with tears.

"But it's going to be alright Scotty boy," Alex said.

Some of Scott's tears slipped down from beneath his goggles. Alex wiped his eyes.

"We both know that the pain is going to lessen over time," he said, "It never goes away, not really, but it gets easier to bear until it's just part of life."

"And how do we do that?" Scott said.

His brother pulled him into a hug.

"How did you do it before?" Alex asked him.

Scott took a shuddering breath.

"I don't remember," he said.

"Let me remind you," Alex said.

He held him tighter.

"We keep going," he said, "One step at a time. We're going to be okay. We can come through this. She's gone, but we're all still here."

Alex let out a shuddering breath.

"We're still here."


	47. Chapter 47

The next few days had been getting progressively worse. Alex was still struggling, but he managed to keep up his façade of strength. The last thing everyone needed was for him to fall apart too. The funeral arrangements were more difficult than Alex had thought. Hank had helped a little, as had Sean and Lorna.

However, there were other considerations. The guest list had been the part that weighed most heavily on his mind. He knew that Moira didn't have any family, but there was one person that he needed to tell who wasn't at the Institute.

After gathering up the courage to call Levine, he had managed to tell him that Moira was dead and that the funeral was in a few days. For a moment there had been a long silence, and Alex had wondered if he was going to say anything at all. If someone had called him up and told him that Sean had been killed, he didn't know if he would be able to talk either.

"How did it happen?"

Alex took a deep breath.

"I can't tell you that."

"Why the hell not?" Levine shouted.

Alex breathed in again and bowed his head.

"Not over the phone," Alex said.

There was another pause. He hoped that Levine understood, although he dreaded telling him what happened when he came for the funeral.

"Why are you telling me this?" Levine asked.

"You deserve to know-"

"No, I know perfectly well that I deserve to know!" Levine snapped, "I want to know why you, Alexander Summers, are telling me this? Where the hell is Xavier?"

Alex sat down, his grip on the phone tightening until his knuckles were white.

"He's not...he's not in any condition to be doing this," Alex said.

"She was his fiancée! He should...he should be doing this," Levine said.

Alex bit his lip. The Professor should be doing this. He'd tentatively approached his room, to tell him that he needed to call Levine, to make some of the funeral arrangements. He'd let him wait three days before he approached. The door had been locked, and he'd been unable to open it.

"Professor?" he'd called.

There had been no answer. He'd continued to knock.

"Professor?"

Frustration had begun to shoot through his veins. He'd waited: he'd been patient. He was tired of bearing his burden alone, tired of forcing himself to be strong. His mind began flitting around the Institute, to the other members of the X-men who were tasked with duties that they were having difficulty completing, to the brokenhearted child that Lorna was taking care of.

Alex's temper had mounted until he'd lost his grip on it.

"Professor? Open the damn door!"

He'd pounded on the door harder and harder until a thought had shot through his head like lightning.

_Go away!_

Alex had fallen to his knees, clutching his head. He'd scrambled away from the room and leaned against the opposite wall.

_Alex, I'm sorry...I didn't mean for it to be that loud. _

_It's okay,_ Alex said, _But Professor...I need you to-_

_No,_ the Professor had thought, _Just no._

_But-_

_I can't Alex. I can't. Please, just go away. _

He rubbed his temples, trying to rid himself of the broken thoughts of the man he looked up to.

"He can't do this right now," Alex said.

"And you can?" Levine said, "You're a child!"

Although Alex hadn't thought it possible, his fingers gripped onto the phone even tighter.

"I'm not a child," he snarled, "Not since I was seventeen. Maybe not even since I was thirteen. So don't you dare call me a child!"

He heard Levine take a sharp breath.

"Jesus, what are they doing to you over there?" he asked.

"Nothing that I didn't choose," Alex said, his voice harsh, "Now, are you coming or aren't you?"

Levine sighed.

"Of course I'm coming," he said, "But...Alex...how's Rahne?"

He thought back to Lorna's last report on Moira's daughter. Rahne still wasn't going to her classes, although classes had resumed. She'd made herself a nest of blankets and buried herself deep inside. She hadn't left her room, and Lorna had struggled to get her to eat.

As far as Alex could tell, the only thing that Rahne was doing other than barely taking care of herself was reading the Bible that Lorna had brought up. Lorna said that she would spend hours pouring frantically over the pages, no doubt looking for some sort of comfort.

The only visitor she'd allowed, besides Lorna, was one brief visit from Clarice, Ororo, Scott and Warren. They'd only been in there for a few minutes, and Lorna said that Rahne hadn't spoken to any of them.

Clarice had been, surprisingly, the boldest. She'd walked up to Rahne and hugged her. Lorna told him that she'd spoken too.

"Don't give up," Clarice had said, "And it's okay if you don't want to talk now, if you're not ready, if you're too sad. When you're ready, just tell me."

Rahne had wept then, but shortly after she'd retreated. The whole visit hadn't lasted any longer than a few minutes.

"Not great," Alex said.

"Is he...if he's not calling me, is he at least...?" Levine tried.

Alex knew the question he was going to ask, and he dreaded having to answer it. The Professor hadn't seen Rahne once since he'd told her Moira had died.

"Never mind," Levine said, "I'll be there."

Alex had hung up. That had been days ago, but at least he knew that Levine was going to come to the funeral. There needed to be people there, as many people as possible. He wasn't going to tolerate poor attendance at Moira's funeral.

On the day before the funeral he'd gone down to Hank to make sure that all of the arrangements were in order. They'd managed to find a mortician, after Hank had managed to make the wounds look like they came from a crash instead of a knife. After that they'd forged some paperwork for the local law enforcement. It wasn't as difficult as he'd thought it would be.

They were having the funeral on the Institute's grounds. From what little conversation he'd had with the Professor on the matter, he'd wanted her buried on the grounds. It seemed fair. Alex had made sure to remind the Professor that the funeral was the next day early in the morning. He didn't want to deal with it afterwards.

When he was satisfied that everything was in order, he'd gone to talk to Sean. He knew his friend was struggling: he'd been supposed to be keeping Moira safe. Sean was pulling together though. Alex had managed, through days of talks, that he'd done everything that he could do, fought as hard as he could, and come out injured. All it came down to was that Riptide's winds had been strong and Mystique had been sly.

Alex knew that they would have to change that. They needed to look at advanced combat maneuvers from now on. He should've realized that sooner: they were relying too much on their powers to get them out of tight corners. Wasn't the X-men about being more than their mutations? From now on, they had to put that into practice.

He also checked in on his brother, as he did every day. It was another stop on his daily trek: he'd forgone most of his classes. His teachers had understood. They knew that he was involved in planning the funeral. What they didn't know was just how much of it he was involved in.

Scott was doing better, or at least going through the motions of doing so. He was pushing on for his friends, although he went to Alex to talk about his own feelings of being lost. Alex was tempted, in weak moments, to tell him that he was feeling the same thing.

That wasn't an option though. Alex had to be the pillar of strength, the person that Scott could rely on. He wasn't about to fail his little brother by showing him how weak and broken he was inside. He couldn't do that to him.

So he checked on him, made sure that his day had been usual, and then headed down to Hank's lab. Hank was seldom in there anymore: he'd retreated to his room. Alex, however, was using Hank's computer to try to decode the data from the floppy disk they had gathered. It felt good to be surrounded by the whirring machine, to read the cold hard data that poured out of it.

It had taken an act of almost strangling will to wipe Moira's blood off the disk. He'd placed it inside Hank's computer and begun sifting through the data. A lot of it was stuff that he already knew, but there were a few new things in there.

For one thing, there were several references made to someone named 'Nathaniel.' Alex had no idea who that was. It did appear that they had been trying to turn that compound into a lab. They were going to have to keep a closer eye on Stryker in the future. A much closer eye. Maybe Levine still had some strings to pull, something to get him fired. Alex didn't know how much he'd be willing to do for them now that Moira was dead though.

So much of the data that they'd accumulated puzzled him. He wanted to ask Hank about several things, and took down notes. He was so absorbed that he know that anyone had entered the room until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Alex?"

He turned around. Lorna was standing there, a few pillows tucked underneath her arm. There were blankets on the floor, and he made a face. He wanted to ask about them, but there was something else that he had to ask first.

"How's Rahne?" he asked.

She sighed.

"A little better," Lorna said, "She said she wanted to be left alone tonight. She was sleeping when I left."

Alex let out a relieved sigh.

"Good," he said, gesturing to the blankets and pillows, "What are those doing here?"

She set the pillows down.

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"It's not important," he said.

"Alex, it is," she said, "You look exhausted."

He frowned and touched his face.

"I feel fine," he said, "And last I looked, I didn't have dark circles or anything."

"Your eyes are slightly rimmed with red, and there's a sunkeness there and there are little wrinkles in the corners of your eyes," Lorna said.

She leaned on one of the computer's modems.

"My mom used to look like that when she'd work a double shift without telling me," Lorna said.

"I'm fine," Alex said.

"You're not," Lorna said, her voice quiet, "Neither of us are. We need to get some sleep before tomorrow. I'm not sure if I can convince you to come upstairs, but I know that I can convince you to stay down here and get some rest."

"You're overestimating your capabilities of persuasion," Alex said.

He got up, thinking that he could leave the room for a few minutes and, when he returned, she'd be gone. Instead Lorna caught his wrist.

"I understand what you're doing," she murmured, "I really do. You have to be strong for Hank and Sean and the Professor. You have to be strong for your brother."

He turned to her and saw that her eyes were misting over.

"And I have to be strong for Rahne," she said.

Alex could feel his throat tightening up. Lorna gave a low chuckle.

"But they're not here right now, are they?"

Barely knowing what he was doing, Alex reached out and pulled Lorna to him. His hand tangled in her hair as he sank to his knees, taking her with him. One of her hands curled around the collar of his shirt.

"It's okay," she said as Alex buried his face in her neck, "We can be weak together."

He laid down, resting his head on some of the pillows she'd brought. For a long time they laid like that, until sleep finally took him.


	48. Chapter 48

"It was a good ceremony."

Charles looked over at Levine. Levine was standing, a glass of whiskey in his hand, staring out the window at the lawn. He wished that he'd been able to refuse his request to see him. All he'd wanted to do after the funeral was go back to his room and lock the door, blot out as much of the world as possible.

He poured his own glass of whiskey. Charles could see his reflection in the silver tray. He hadn't shaved in days, and his hair was growing in a bit more. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and somehow his face seemed sunken in.

He looked like hell. It was certainly what he felt like. Every corner held whispers of the woman he'd loved. Her forms were still on his desk, wedding plans were in his room. Even when he woke up he sometimes thought that he could feel her lips on his cheek, kissing him awake.

"I'm glad you held it here, that you're burying her here too," Levine said, "I get the feeling that that's what she would've wanted."

Charles put the whiskey decanter down and swallowed the drink. It burned his throat, but didn't provide any clarity.

"Perhaps," he said.

Levine cleared his throat.

"Charles, I know that you and I don't know each other very well," he said, "The only thing that we really had in common was Moira and...well..."

Charles turned his wheelchair so he could face Levine fully. Levine sloshed the whiskey in his glass around.

"I know that it might be none of my business," he said, "But I need to ask about your plans for Rahne."

Charles gave him a long look.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Levine looked up, his face troubled.

"I think you know what I mean," he said, "Rahne's just lost her primary guardian."

His heart constricted. Rahne. Of course. He blinked a few times, trying to remember Moira's daughter. It was more difficult than he'd like to admit. He'd been living moment by moment since Moira's death, struggling to think about the next day.

"Charles, I know what Moira would have wanted," Levine said, "Or at least I think I do. I haven't seen her will. However, considering your status as her fiancé, it's safe to assume that she would've wanted you to take custody of Rahne."

Charles took a deep breath.

"Of course," he said, "She will always have a home here."

"Will she have a father though?" Levine asked.

His tone was pointed, more so than Charles would've liked. Charles narrowed his eyes and Levine put a hand up defensively.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, but you're a mess. Moira's death...it hasn't hit any of us easy, but one look at you..." Levine said, "Just..."

He shook his head.

"I've been thinking about this a lot lately," Levine said, "Ever since one of your students called me instead of you."

"I-" Charles began, his voice angry.

"Charles, I'm not attacking you," Levine said, his voice tired, "But you're not exactly in the best shape. Do you honestly think that you can be a father to a child who's just lost her whole world?"

Charles fell silent. He didn't know how to answer.

"Right," Levine said.

He took another gulp of whiskey.

"I'm willing to assume responsibility for Rahne," Levine said, "I don't intend to keep her away from the Institute forever. In a few years she'll come back: it is the best place for mutants that I can think of. But a change of scenery might do her good."

He sighed.

"I don't pretend to be a better guardian than you," Levine said, "But you need to know..."

Levine set down his glass of whiskey on Charles's table. Charles looked down, feeling a pit opening at his feet, hearing a voice whisper that he should jump into it. He hadn't thought of Rahne once since he'd told her that Moira was dead. What kind of a person would do that, especially when that person had told her that he wanted to be her father?

"I loved Moira," Levine said, "Not like you did. But...she was family Charles. And I want to do right by her daughter."

He scratched the back of his neck.

"Charles, the choice is yours," he said, "If you think that you can be her father, then don't hesitate in telling me to pack dust. It might be best if she stays here after all."

Levine's face hardened.

"But if don't think you can handle this, then send Rahne to Virginia with me," he said.

His voice softened fractionally.

"You'll see her again: I promise."

Charles looked up at Levine, his own emotions churning inside of him.

"I just want what's best for Rhane," Levine said.

"So do I," Charles said.

* * *

Rahne looked ahead of her, staring at her mother's coffin. The ceremony had gone by in a blur. She couldn't even remember the eulogy. She could vaguely remember Levine and a couple of the other students talking to her afterwards, saying that they felt sorry for her.

She didn't want their pity though. She wanted her mother. Rahne wanted to wake up, but she had the feeling that that wasn't going to happen. How many times had she gone to sleep over the past few weeks, praying that when she woke up it would all be different?

It appeared that God had given her her allotment of miracles. She shouldn't have selfishly expected any more. Rahne knew that not many children were as fortunate as she'd been. Many had never had someone to rescue them from death and a miserable existence. Not many of them had been given a mother who loved them, even if that mother had been given to her only to be taken away a few short years later.

She'd looked around the gathering and seen the Professor. His eyes had seemed empty and distant. His hair had grown in a bit: he hadn't been shaving. Her heart had begun to hurt anew. He'd said that he was going to be her father, that he wanted to be her father. Scott had told her to have faith in him.

Rahne wanted to go and talk to him. She wanted to speak to someone else who had cared deeply about her mother. If he'd wanted to talk to her though, then he would have already done it. She couldn't think ill of him for not saying anything, but it only cemented what she knew deep inside her heart. Once more, she was alone.

Well, not quite. Lorna was waiting for her in the back of the room, her constant guardian. Scott, Warren, Ororo, and Clarice were waiting for her too. At least she had them. It hadn't been what she'd been promised by her mother and the Professor, a mother, father, and perhaps siblings, but it was more than she'd had four years ago. She would have to be grateful for that.

She closed her eyes for a moment and whispered a quick prayer. There would be no more miracles, she knew that, but perhaps He could help her carry herself through it. He was going to be there for her. He'd done it before.

"Lorna?" Rahne said, opening her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Can I have a few minutes?" she asked, "I'll go right up to my room after this."

Lorna hesitated. Rahne knew she was worried about her, but she couldn't be with someone just then.

"Please?" she asked.

Lorna sighed and then nodded. She leaned down and kissed Rahne on her forehead.

"I'll be there when you're ready," she said.

Rahne waited until Lorna was gone to get closer to the coffin. She placed on of her hands on the smooth wood. The reverend who officiated had said that her mother died in a car crash. Rahne had been told what really happened though. She'd died fighting for other people, murdered by two members of an unfeeling group of people called The Brotherhood. Mystique and Magneto. It pained her that the world was never going to know of her mother's sacrifice, could never know. Perhaps that's what made it a true sacrifice.

She bit her lip, looking at the flowers that decorated the room, wanting so badly to be able to say something worthy of the occasion. Rahne had been pouring through her Bible lately, searching for something to say in this moment, something that would comfort her and let her mother know, from her place in Heaven, that Rahne was going to be alright.

In the end, she settled on words that she had said before. Her mother had given her life to the Institute, a worthy cause. Rahne could do the same.

"Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried," Rahne whispered, "The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."

Feeling tears in her eyes, Rahne leaned forward and kissed the wood of the coffin.

"I'll see you again mom," she said, "I'm sure of it."

She pulled herself away, forcing each step. Rahne walked out into the hallway, looking at the staircase that led to her room. She knew what she'd promised Lorna but, for some reason, she couldn't quite do it. She couldn't go up there.

Instead Rahne walked out onto the front porch of the Institute, leaving the door open behind her. She sat on the steps there, letting the cool air wash around her. Rahne bowed her head and let her braids fall over her shoulders as she stared at her black dress.

Time passed. Rahne didn't know just how much did, just that Lorna would be looking at her soon. It was time to go back into the Institute, but the idea of doing so seemed too difficult. Why did she have to go back? Why did she have to do anything at all?

Her mother wouldn't have wanted her to think that way though. She still had people, she wasn't that little girl who'd run away from home with nothing but the clothes on her back. Rahne hadn't gotten very far that way.

Chewing on her tongue, Rahne prepared herself to go inside. She had no idea what future awaited her, but she knew there was one. One without her mother, but one where Rahne was alive. It was more than she had thought possible four years ago.

A strange smell came on the chilly breeze. She cocked her head and looked up, her nostrils flaring. Rahne could see the people approaching the Institute. They were unfamiliar and she stared at them, trying to figure out what to do.

They stopped a few feet away from her. The man in front of them was dressed strangely, they all were really, but he was the only one wearing a helmet, and he was giving her an odd look. Rahne gave him an odd look straight back. What were they doing there?

The man turned away, obviously dismissing her.

"Mystique, memory fails me. Is there a doorbell we should ring?"

Warning bells went off in Rahne's head. She knew that name. Lorna had told her that name, told her what it meant. Strange emotions ran through her, ones she knew were wrong and cruel, and others that made her want to run inside.

With so many conflicted emotions churning inside of her, caught between fight and flight, Rahne did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.


	49. Chapter 49

Alex leaned up against the stairs, tugging irritably at his tie. He knew that he should keep it on, at least for the rest of the day, but it was too stifling. All he wanted to do was get rid of it, get rid of the whole damn black suit.

Hank glanced at him and shook his head. He knew that Hank wanted to talk about the funeral. Sean probably did too. Alex could read it in their eyes. Sean was fiddling with the sleeve of his black sports coat. It hung loose over his shoulder so that it didn't interfere with his broken arm.

He wished Lorna was there, that he could find somewhere private to hold her and tell her what he was feeling. Despite his exhaustion, they hadn't slept too long in front of Hank's computer. When he'd woken up he still had several hours before he had to go and get ready. He doubted that Lorna had slept more than a few hours herself.

He'd told her everything that had been going on his head from the moment Moira had died.

"He let her die Lorna," Alex had said, "Magneto. He...you didn't know him back then, and I've known that he wasn't the same for a long time, but he decided to let her die. I can understand killing someone in a fight, I don't like it but I can wrap my head around it, but...just choosing to let someone die..."

She'd leaned over and kissed him then, one of her hands caressing his cheek.

"It's unforgiveable," she'd said.

He'd been glad that she'd understood. He told her of his feelings of failure, and she told him about what it felt like to lose the woman who'd given her a new life. It had felt good to get it off his chest, and he'd held her close the entire night.

Morning had come though, and they'd had to go get ready. When he walked out of the lab he knew that he wasn't allowed to be weak anymore. Everyone else needed him to be strong too much.

Right before he'd left she'd kissed his cheek.

"Don't try to shut me out again," she'd whispered.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

He stuffed his tie into one of his pockets and unbuttoned his collar. He still felt stifled there, almost trapped. He'd managed to find his brother and give him what comfort he could. Scott was with his friends now, and Alex hoped that they would be able to comfort each other. He knew that he was out of words.

"Alex..." Hank said.

"Yes?" Alex said.

Hank slumped.

"What happens now?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"I mean...once she's been buried," Hank said.

Alex leaned his head back until it touched the wall.

"We continue," he said.

"You keep saying that," Hank said, "And I get it but, the X-men. What do we do?"

He answered without any hesitation.

"Investigate the data we got from the compound: see where it leads," he said, "And if we can find a way to deal some damage to the Brotherhood that won't heal, well, that would be a nice bonus."

Light footsteps padded down the stairs. He knew without turning that it was Lorna.

"Have you seen Rahne?" she asked.

He turned then, frowning.

"I thought she was with you," he said.

"She wanted to be alone with her mother for a minute," Lorna said, "I couldn't say no-"

A scream filled the air. Alex whipped around. It had come from outside, probably the front porch. Without pausing he ran towards the front door. The sound of feet told him that the others were running too.

He shoved the doors open. Rahne was there, pushing at the ground and trying to scramble away. Her eyes were wild: those of an animal. He remembered the day that he'd first seen her, pushed up against a wall and alone. He gritted his teeth. She might still be up against a wall, but she damn well wasn't alone anymore.

Alex stepped in front of her. Lorna moved behind him, wrapping her arms around Rahne and pulling her away. Once he was satisfied that she was safe his eyes snapped ahead of him. It was only then that he realized just who it was that was standing there.

He splayed out his fingers, letting his powers burn through his veins, letting the light wrap around him. A low growl behind him alerted him that Hank was there, and he could hear Sean's breath become heavy and angry.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" Alex hissed.

Magneto cocked his head. Mystique looked nervous, and he saw that the man with the choppy brown hair was there as well. Alex could only feel satisfaction that half of his face had been bandaged up.

"We didn't hurt the child," he said.

"You don't have to do anything: just you being here is enough," Alex said, "Now what are you doing here?"

"Obviously we wouldn't be here if we didn't need to be," Magneto said.

"I don't have the damn time for your word games," Alex snapped, "So just tell me what the hell you're doing here so you can go away."

Magneto raised his eyebrows.

"As you wish," he said, "Fetch Charles."

"He's busy right now," Alex said.

"What with?"

"As if you don't know," Alex said, "Say what you want, and then get out. I have half a mind to burn all of your faces off just for coming here. So hurry up and spit it out."

Magneto's eyebrows stayed raised.

"We managed to gather some data from the compound during our last...encounter," Magneto said, "From what we have decoded we found that there were some rather strange laboratories in this state, which only proves what I've-"

"Yeah, what about them?" Alex snapped.

There were a few whispers amongst the Brotherhood. Magneto frowned.

"You knew about them?" he asked.

"Saw em, went inside, stole their shit, freed the prisoners, blew em to hell," Alex said.

"So, like Havok said," Sean said, his voice cold, "What about them?"

Magneto looked caught off-guard. Alex laughed.

"You all were that far behind?" he asked, "Let me catch you up to speed. There were three labs being operated by an independent contractor who managed to hide his info on a government server. Nice little hacking job there. We destroyed them, freed some of our people, and then went to wipe the last of their files off the face of the earth."

It wasn't the exact truth, but he wasn't going to let Magneto know everything about Stryker and whoever 'Nathaniel' was. The last thing he wanted to do was involve him in their investigation. He also wasn't going to start a war by letting him know that a government official had been involved.

"And what happens when we try to take care of it?" Alex said.

He took a step forward. His eyes were level with Magneto's now: he'd grown tall enough to look at him on an even footing.

"You and your team of assholes comes in and, because of that, we nearly lose everything," Alex said, "So, yeah, we'll take care of things. Go back to sending your 'messages' and get the hell off of this campus."

Magneto narrowed his eyes.

"Have a care Summers," he said.

Alex stared back at him.

"I'm not afraid of you," he said.

"And you really think that I'm afraid of you?" Magneto said, "You look like you're going to a job interview Summers."

Alex snarled.

"It's a funeral asshole," he said.

Magneto paused.

"Who died?"

* * *

"Hey, Scott?" Warren said, "I think that's your brother."

Scott walked over to where Warren was. His friend had stood in front of the big window in the library, just staring out it. Scott often wondered what he saw when he did that. Was he picturing himself flying over everything, away from the misery in his home, the misery that had now spread to the Institute?

When Scott reached him, he realized just what it was that had Warren concerned. His brother was standing with the rest of the X-men in front of the entrance to the school. Scott had never seen the other people on the lawn before, but he knew enough about the X-men to make a pretty good guess about who they were.

"What's going on?" Ororo said, peeking over Scott's shoulder.

"They're dressed strangely," Clarice said.

Scott swallowed. Anger was clogging his throat, making it difficult to breathe. How dare the Brotherhood show up at Moira's funeral? How dare they come?

"Is that Rahne down there?" Warren asked.

He felt his jaw drop. Rahne was there, right behind Lorna. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Alex would keep her safe though: he was sure of it. Nonetheless, his heartbeat increased.

* * *

The words made Alex's heart stop beating. He didn't know. He honestly did not know that Moira had died. That meant that Mystique didn't either. How could they not know? Mystique had stabbed her, Alex had fought Magneto and the Brotherhood so that they could get through to help her.

The gears clicked. They didn't know because they hadn't cared enough to connect the dots. Moira wasn't important to them. They hadn't thought of the far-reaching consequences of what they had done. Their minds hadn't dwelled on the situation enough to realize that Moira was dead.

When he spoke again, his voice was low, the words grated out through clenched teeth.

"When I said..." Alex said, "that Moira was bleeding to death, did you think I was joking?"

He caught Magneto's expression, a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"When I begged you to let us get her medical attention, to just leave well enough alone, did you think I was lying?" Alex said, his voice rising on every syllable.

He stepped forward until he was inches away from Magneto. It was a dumb idea, but all he could see was red. All he could hear was the stupid, heartless question that Magneto had asked.

"So yeah, the Professor's busy right now," Alex said.

His eyes roved over to Mystique. She was blinking at him, and he wondered if she was finally realizing what she'd done.

"Congratulations Mystique," he said, "You never liked Moira, now you've killed her."

He turned to Magneto.

"And you," he said.

He laughed and lowered his voice, thinking of the little girl who stood only a few feet away from him.

"Congratulations on finishing your metamorphosis," he said, "Congratulations on finally becoming Shaw."

Alex didn't have time to react before one of the metal handrails came undone and shoved him to the ground. He sent out a blast at Magneto, but he dodged it. Hank leapt forward, heading for Magneto. The man with the choppy brown hair tackled him before he reached him.

Sean covered Rahne's ears and began screaming. The world was filled with a haze and Alex struggled to protect his own ears. Magneto stumbled and Alex forced himself to sit up enough to send out a blast. This one hit Magneto and pushed him back.

Immediately the handrail that was wrapped around his throat tightened. He struggled against it, trying to breath, but dark spots began dancing in front of his eyes. He gasped, fighting for air.

Suddenly, it loosened slightly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lorna running forward, her hands outstretched and her eyes glowing green. He gathered more light into his hands, ready for another blow-

_ENOUGH!_

The metal band around Alex's throat didn't loosen immediately, but the man with the choppy brown hair let go of Hank. Sean stopped screaming. Alex saw now that Mystique had been moving towards him. She stopped in her tracks, clutching her head.

The band finally released him. Alex got to his feet as the Professor wheeled out of the Institute, Levine behind him.

"Enough," the Professor hissed.


	50. Chapter 50

Charles gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly, his breaths coming in harsh pants. Erik was there. His sister was there. The last two people he ever wanted to see were standing on his front porch, threatening his students.

The fight had been in full swing when he'd finally made it down, and he hadn't been able to restrain any of his anger when he told them to stop. In all honesty, he didn't want to.

He hadn't cared who had started it when he opened the doors. All he cared about was the fact that there was a brawl going on in his front yard, visible from his window, from any window really. They were lucky that most of the students were in the dining room on the other side of the Institute.

Concealment was only the tip of the iceberg though. The Brotherhood and the X-men were not supposed to fight on the front lawn. This was supposed to be a haven. His students were in danger in the one place that they were supposed to be safe.

A small noise from his left made him turn his head slightly. His heart sank. He hadn't seen Rahne from the window. He imagined that the older students had been blocking her from view. Sean had his hands on her shoulders, and Rahne was making a small keening noise, her eyes wide with fright.

It was like a knife stabbing him in the heart.

_"She called me 'mama' tonight Charles," Moira said._

Rahne's eyes met his, and the knife twisted.

_"She was only half awake," Moira said, "But as soon as she called me that...I realized just how much I wanted to call her my daughter."_

_Charles smiled. He reached out and touched her cheek._

_"You'd make a wonderful mother," he said._

_Her eyes met his._

_"Charles...I'd like you to help me with this," she said, "But I'd also like you to...support me."_

_"Support you?" he asked, confused._

The pain became more intense, waves of guilt crashing down around him. He hadn't thought, had been far too miserable to see past what was in front of his own eyes. Of course Rahne was suffering, and of course it was his responsibility to make things better for her.

A nasty thought appeared, one that had been on the edge of his mind ever since Levine had first suggested taking responsibility for her. It told him that, just maybe, she'd be better off without someone like him. Just like her mother.

He turned back to the Brotherhood, pain and anger rising inside of him. A great deal of it was at himself, but there was plenty left over for the people in front of him. He pushed himself to the forefront of the porch, past his students, down the ramp, so that he was standing right in front of the Brotherhood.

"What do you think you're doing?" Charles said.

Erik straightened himself.

"I was here to deliver some information that it appears you already knew," he said.

"And the fact that you nearly throttled one of my students?" Charles said.

Erik's face hardened.

"I would advise you to tell that student to watch his tongue," he said.

So the Brotherhood had started it. The care about just who had started things came flooding back as Alex took a step forward. Charles held out a hand. He was going to handle this.

It was about time that he handled something.

"And there are many things that I would advise you to do," Charles said, "But unfortunately it's too late."

Erik clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Charles, it was not deliberate-"

"If that's all you can say Erik, then I'm afraid that it's not good enough," Charles said.

He grabbed the armrests of his wheelchair again.

_"I love you Charles."_

_"I love you too Moira."_

"We were going to get married in a few months," Charles said.

Erik turned his head away.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry," he said.

"So am I," Charles said, "But again, that's not good enough."

Erik turned back to him, but Charles wasn't going to let him speak.

"I know you know what it feels like to have your future stolen from you," he said, "I would have thought that you would have known that the word 'mercy' is not an empty one. I would have thought that when one of my students begs you to call a truce to save a life, you would've said yes. I would have thought-"

Charles stopped himself, struggling to conceal his emotions.

"No matter," he said, "Because it appears that I was wrong."

"I told you once that your faith in people would let you down," Erik said.

His voice lacked the edge that Charles had expected. It sounded almost sad. However, it didn't make it better.

"Perhaps," Charles said.

He looked past Erik and stared at Raven. She was unable to meet his eyes.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

Her eyes did meet his then.

"I'm not some little girl Charles," she said.

"And killing people makes you grown up?" he asked.

His voice came out flat. He thought of the million memories and felt his anger growing.

"Losing people you care about changes you," Raven snapped.

Her eyes briefly flickered to Alex. For a moment Charles stared at her before sighing in understanding. He remembered what Alex had said about Mystique accusing him of Azazel's murder. Now he understood just why she'd done so. To her, even though it had been on the battlefield, it had been murder.

Pity flared up, but it was squashed by something else.

"Yes," Charles said, "But you knew."

He lowered his voice.

"I saw what happened through Moira's thoughts, an event she tried to hide so as not to hurt me," he said, "But you saw the ring. I saw you look at it, saw the understanding in your eyes, saw how you pulled the knife out anyway. You knew what she was to me. You willingly took her from me. What did she do to you to warrant your actions? What did..."

He forced the next few words past his lips, all but a plea to understand.

"What did I do to you to deserve this?" he asked, "I am never going to lose the knowledge that my sister stabbed the woman I loved. What did I do?"

Raven didn't answer. Charles looked between her and Erik.

"I didn't hold it against you when you left. Either of you. It was what you felt to be right," Charles said, "And I still don't. This, however..."

He shook his head.

"Never come back here. Not as the Brotherhood, I don't care what's happening," he said.

He gestured to Rahne.

"And if you come close to any of my children again-" he said.

"We didn't harm her-" Erik began irritably.

"Did you strike first?" he snapped, "In the fight, did you strike first?"

Erik fell silent.

"Then you could have," Charles said, "If you ever come near them, if you harm even a hair on the heads of any of my students-"

Charles narrowed his eyes.

"I might not be able to stop you with my powers Erik," he said, "But I will stop everyone else. And I won't tell the X-men to hold back. Are we clear?"

Erik gave him a cold look, but nodded.

"Good," Charles said, "Now get out."

He turned his chair around and motioned to Alex. His student's eyes were hard as he began heading towards the doors to the school, the rest of the X-men following him. Levine gave Charles a wondering look as he went inside, and Charles briefly thought he saw Rahne look at him.

"You've changed Charles."

Charles didn't even look back at Erik.

"So have you," he said.

He wheeled the rest of the way into the Institute, slamming the door behind him. For a minute he just stared at the door, wondering what on earth he'd done. He felt exhausted, as though he'd just ripped a large chunk of his heart out of his chest.

Charles swallowed, feeling the darkness threatening to consume him again. He curled his fingers inwards, letting his now too-long fingernails dig into his palms and break the skin. He needed something to ground him. If anything, the past few minutes proved that he'd done enough wallowing.

He turned around, his fingernails still buried in his palm. The X-men were staring at him, and Levine was giving him a look that smacked of admiration. There was only one person that Charles wanted to talk to though.

"Rahne," Charles said, his voice gentle, "I need to have a word with you."

He gestured to the study and Rahne walked in, her head bowed. Levine gave him a meaningful look. Charles nodded in recognition, and then looked over at Alex.

For the first time he really saw his student. Alex looked exhausted. Charles's heart clenched. He'd taken on the burdens that Charles should have carried. It made him feel even more pathetic. He would need to talk to him about that, but Rahne had to come first.

Still, he had to let him know that he wasn't forgotten.

"I'll talk to you in a little bit Alex," Charles said.

"They really did start it," Alex said.

"I'm not doubting you," Charles said, feeling the ghost of a smile on his lips, "But we need to talk about other things. We all do, I think."

Alex gave him a brief nod. Steeling his nerves, Charles wheeled into the study and closed the door behind him. Rahne was curled up on one of the chairs, her knees tucked up to her chin. She buried her face when he came in.

"Those people murdered my mom, didn't they?" she asked.

Charles closed his eyes briefly.

"Yes," he said.

The temptation to keep his eyes closed stole over him. Memories began to resurface, memories of a bloodied form and Hank's frenzied work. He'd been in her mind, frantically trying to keep her with them. It hadn't made any difference, and he'd been in her mind the moment she'd died.

It hadn't been like it had been with Shaw: that had been short and painful. This had been long, more like a hand slipping from his grasp. If he concentrated very hard, he could almost feel her last, whispered thoughts.

He fought to open his eyes again. Charles wheeled next to Rahne.

"I've been talking to Levine," he said.

"Mom's friend," Rahne said.

"Yes," Charles said, "He thought it might be good for you to leave the Institute for a while."

Rahne slumped in on her shoulders even more.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Her voice was muffled, but he could also hear that it was flat, devoid of emotion. It was so unlike the vibrant child he'd come to know. Charles looked down. This was going to be difficult.

"I want to know if you want to go," he said.

Rahne turned and looked at him, her face blank.

"Do you think I should go?" she asked.

Again, there was not even a speck of emotion in her tone. It would have made this easier if there had been, but if he'd deserved for things to be easy, then they wouldn't be having this conversation.

_"As I said, you'll make a wonderful mother," Charles said, "And I want to see that, more than anything."_

"Over the past few days, I've failed in many ways," Charles said, "But they all pale in comparison in the way that I've failed you. I might not...I might not have been able to marry your mother as I wished."

He sighed.

"But I said my vows in my heart to her a long time ago," he said, "So what I think..."

Charles swallowed.

"I think that I'm sorry for leaving you alone and not being the person you needed me to be," Charles said, "But I think that I want you to stay right here."

Her head tiled up. Tears coursed down Rahne's cheeks. She launched herself out of her chair and into his arms. Charles felt shock: surely forgiveness couldn't be given so easily? However, this was Moira's daughter, slow to trust, but there was strength and love there that he'd never be able to fathom. The fact that they didn't share blood was immaterial.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"I miss her," Rahne wept.

"I miss her too," Charles said.


	51. Chapter 51

Alex sank down onto the nearest seat that he could find. He knew that his neck would bruise, although he also knew that the handrail hadn't been tight enough to crush his windpipe. There was some relief in that: he didn't want a repeat of what had happened with Mystique.

He buttoned up his shirt and tied his tie to hide what he knew must be terrible bruises. Just another thing to hide. Lorna reached over and finished tying the tie properly, her eyes meeting his briefly.

He touched her cheek. After the tumultuous events of the past few minutes, she seemed reassuringly solid.

"Are you going to be in the lab tonight?" he murmured.

"Yes," she said, "You're not the only one who needs to get something off your chest."

Across from him Hank and Sean sank into the sofa. He just nodded at them: they had run out of words. He supposed that there wasn't much you could say when two murderers showed up at their victim's funeral.

"Alex!"

He winced and let his hand fall by his side. All he wanted to do was sit down and go to sleep for a long time. He didn't want to have to give any comfort to Ororo. He wasn't sure if he had anything left to give.

"Ororo, it was nothing!"

Scott's panicked voice made him sit up straighter. He got up from the sofa and saw Scott giving him a worried look from the doorway. Ororo stood there, looking defiant. A rather pale looking Warren behind her, as well as Clarice. Her face was indifferent.

He knew what had happened immediately. It wasn't as though it were rocket science.

"I'm guessing all of you were looking out the window?" he asked.

Ororo nodded fiercely.

"Who were those people?" she asked, "They tried to kill you!"

Alex regarded the group thoughtfully. He supposed that he could tell them to wait for a few minutes, quietly fetch the Professor, and make sure that they never saw the Brotherhood again. It was probably the safest option.

Still, these were his brother's friends. He didn't want to have to ask the Professor to wipe their minds. Besides, they were old enough to be trusted. Clarice already knew. He could count on two thirteen-year-olds to keep a secret. He knew Scott would make sure of it.

He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group. Hank seemed resigned and Lorna just sighed. Sean made a motion with his good hand, obviously egging him on.

"Shut the door," Alex said.

They poured in at once. Scott shut the door, still looking worried. Alex gestured at him with his hand, trying to keep him calm. He wondered how to start, how to make them understand just who those people were.

He decided that the beginning was as good a starting point as any.

"Keep this between yourselves," he said, "What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room."

Ororo, Warren, and Clarice all nodded, their eyes eager.

"Those people on the lawn are part of an organization called the Brotherhood that we've been fighting for the past few years," Alex said, "They think that the only answer to the human-mutant problem is all-out war. Obviously we don't, and we have a slight problem with them going in and killing people. So we've clashed a few times."

"Who's we?" Ororo asked.

He leaned against the back of the sofa.

"The X-men," he said, "Me, Lorna, Hank, Sean, the Professor."

He gritted his teeth.

"Until recently Moira too."

Clarice stepped forward, her face blank. It always worried Alex when she got like that.

"She didn't die in a car crash, did she?" Clarice asked.

There was no point in lying now.

"No," Alex said, "The people you saw out there today? They killed her."

Warren looked down. Ororo's hands clenched into fists.

"Does Rahne know?" she asked.

"We were the ones who brought her to the Institute," Alex said, "She's known from the beginning that we have something of a militia. She knows what happened to her mother."

Clarice looked at Ororo.

"I didn't know that Miss Moira didn't die in a car crash," she said, "But I did know about the X-men."

"How?" Ororo asked.

"They rescued me," Clarice said.

She didn't say anything else. Ororo threw her hands in the air and glanced over at Scott.

"Did you know too?" she asked.

"He's my brother," Scott said, "Of course I knew."

"Don't be too hard on him though," Alex said, "I told him not to tell anyone. Him, Clarice, and Rahne."

He crossed his arms. Sean rose from his sofa.

"Now you know," he said, "The big secret of the Institute. We're trying to keep you all safe the best we can."

"Those people came here," Ororo said, "They killed her and then they came here!"

"It's slightly more complicated than that," Sean said, "But basically, yeah."

"How do I join?"

Alex blinked. Warren had stepped forward, his words defiant.

"I want to stop them," he said.

Alex looked at him thoughtfully. He knew that Hank was shaking his head and Sean and Lorna looked dismayed, but he was assessing. Warren's flight abilities could be an asset. If they taught him to fight as well as fly, then Sean might finally be able to have some back-up when he did aerial support.

He shut down his thoughts almost at once. What had he become, assessing children for their combat potential?

"You're far too young," Alex said.

"Can I join when I get older?" Warren asked.

"You can count me in," Ororo said.

Clarice gave both of her friends a long look.

"I think someone needs to make sure you two don't die," she said, "I'll come too."

"I just said that you were too young!" Alex snapped, "That means all of you! In a couple of years, talk to the Professor, and see what he says."

Ororo gave a sharp nod, and then looked at Scott.

"You wanna come too when we're 'older?'" she asked.

"I've been thinking about becoming an X-man for the past year," Scott said, "Of course I do."

Alex nearly choked.

"I just knew that Alex meant it the first time around when he said we were too young," Scott said.

Alex managed to gain enough control of himself to resume breathing. This was definitely not happening.

"So now you know," Hank said, "I think that you should all go back to your rooms."

Clarice inclined her head and opened the doors. They began to file out.

"Not you Scott," Alex said, "I need to talk to you."

Before his brother could protest, Alex put a hand on his back and steered him into the library. He was sure that the Professor could find him there when he was done with Rahne. Beyond that, his heart was pounding wildly, and he could hear the rush of his blood in his ears.

He led Scott in and shut the door.

"You wanna be an X-man, huh?" he asked.

Scott nodded.

"And when exactly were you planning on telling me?" Alex said.

"When I became old enough for it to matter," Scott said.

Alex ran a hand through his hair.

"I thought you'd be proud," Scott said.

He turned to his brother, wanting to scoff at him. Proud? Proud that his little brother would risk himself every day, bringing home strange injuries that he'd have to hide, having to kill people, to watch those he cared about fall in battle?

No. He didn't want his brother to be an X-man.

"I just..." Scott said.

"How exactly did you plan on doing this? You're scared of your powers," Alex said.

It was a low blow, and he knew it. However, he had to get this idea out of Scott's head as fast as possible.

"Yes. I am."

His brother jutted his chin up defiantly.

"But I can learn not to be scared," he said.

Alex leaned over one of the tables, his hands splayed out and his back facing Scott.

"Why?" he demanded, "Why would you want to do this? Because I do? You don't have to do everything I do."

"That's not...that's not why."

"Then why?" Alex snapped.

"You're saving people!" Scott burst out, "You're saving people all the time! Clarice and Rahne, and all those people! I want to do that, to make sure that people don't end up like them, scared and hunted! I want to help!"

"You don't have to be an X-man to help!" Alex said, whirling around.

"But I'm built for it!" Scott said.

His hands flew up to his goggles. Alex felt himself slump. Scott had really thought about this.

"I know this can be a weapon!" he said, "And you're right, I am scared. But...if I get over it, if I really push past it, then I can really help people with it!"

"Scott..." Alex said.

He ran his hands through his hair again. He could feel himself breaking.

"I don't want you to," Alex said.

"I don't need your permission," Scott said, "When the time comes I'll go to the Professor, or I'll go out on my own."

Alex looked at his brother.

"You're going to find a way to do this whether I want you to or not, aren't you?" he asked.

"Of course," Scott said, "I'm a Summers."

"Right...right..." Alex said.

He let his hands fall limply by his side.

"It's dangerous," he said.

"I'll be careful," Scott said.

Alex squared his shoulders, filled with a new purpose.

"Yes, you will be," he said, "Because we're going to start training you now."

Scott's mouth opened.

"But you said-"

"That you were too young? Right. And I stand by that. But you're not too young to start training," Alex said.

He reached across and pulled his brother into a bear hug.

"By the time you're older, you're going to be ready for anything those scumbags can toss at you," he said.

Scott sighed deeply, relieved, and hugged him back.

"Thank you for understanding," he said.

Alex didn't understand though. He didn't understand why his brother was so determined, and he knew exactly what he would be subjecting him to. He had to start training him soon though. On the battlefield he couldn't focus on trying to help him. Scott would have to protect himself, and Alex would have to train him to be able to do so. It was the only way he could think to protect him.

_Alex, may I have a word?_

The Professor's words cut through his thoughts. He let go of Scott and stepped back.

"I need to go for a moment," he said, "But stay here. We'll talk some more in a few minutes."

Scott nodded. Forcing himself not to look back at his little brother, Alex walked across the hall. He knocked on the door of the study.

_Come in._

He opened the door. The Professor was in the middle of the room. Rahne was in his lap, her head resting on his chest. Her eyes were closed, and she was snoring softly. The Professor chuckled dryly at his look.

"She cried herself to sleep," he said, "I know that's nothing to be happy about, but it was good that she got it out."

Alex just nodded. He didn't know what to say. Several seconds of silence stretched between them.

"I'd like to thank you for what you've been doing over the past few days," the Professor said.

"It was nothing," Alex shrugged.

"It was most certainly not nothing," the Professor said, "You took on the burdens that I was too weak to carry."

"You were grieving."

"And you weren't?" the Professor asked.

Alex put his hands in his pockets.

"Yours was different," he said.

"And Rahne's was worse, but I was selfish," the Professor said, "I cannot tell you how sorry I am for the pain that I've added to your load. I should have been the one to comfort you all, and I failed."

The Professor sighed.

"We need to move forward Alex, as painful as it is," he said, "I applaud you for seeing that, but you don't have to stand alone as leader anymore. We need to keep fighting."

Alex felt a knot inside that he hadn't known was there slowly untie itself. He looked down at Rahne.

"I need to put my daughter to bed," he said, "And then I have a quick word with Levine. But I want you to gather the X-men in Hank's lab. It's time we had a meeting."

"Right," Alex said.

He turned and walked to the door.

"And Alex," the Professor called, "promise me one thing?"

"What?"

The Professor fixed his gaze on him.

"Don't ever let me shut down like this again," he said, "No matter what I'm feeling, or how weak I am, don't let me."

Alex whipped around.

"Professor-"

"Promise me Alex," the Professor said.

Alex nodded. The Professor did the same, and Alex went to the door again. Just before he opened it, he paused.

"It's good to have you back Professor," he said.

"Thank you."


	52. Chapter 52

"College can be difficult at the best of times, in the most average of circumstances," the Professor said, "But here, we all know that we are anything but average."

There were a few scattered chuckles. Alex fiddled with the sleeve of his graduation gown. They were having the ceremony out on the front lawn, since there was nowhere else big enough to hold it.

He didn't look at the crowd, but there was someone missing there, someone who should have been in the audience, someone who'd looked over his teacher's reports for him. It had been one year since Moira's death, but somehow it seemed longer. He'd gone back to work, putting on a brave face in the day and then holding Lorna close at night.

He didn't know how the Professor did it. He honestly didn't. It was difficult to move past even with someone supporting him every step of the way. The Professor was marching onwards though. He hadn't shaved, although Alex chalked that up more to the stresses of being busy with a school and raising a child.

Alex hadn't commented after that. He looked down at his graduation robes again, feeling silly and strange. There were only five of them graduating: him, Sean, and three others he didn't know too well. Lorna would graduate next year. She'd finally decided to major in teaching as well.

Sean was going to take a few more years of classes, since he was going for a higher degree in law. The Professor had already promised Alex an assistant teacher's position. He'd taken it without a thought. It had been what he'd been training for after all.

"And I cannot say that your lives will be average after leaving the Institute," The Professor said.

At least there was that to look forward to. Alex turned his head away from his robes, deciding that maybe he should look at the audience. Lorna sat a few seats down from him next to Scott and Hank wearing a white sundress. Hank had long since graduated, he'd managed to do it at fifteen after all, but he gave Alex an appreciative nod of his head. Lorna grinned at him and Scott waved.

He smiled and nodded his head. Doing anything more conspicuous would probably be rude during the Professor's speech. His brother had changed over the past year, his face growing more angular, and slender muscles appearing on his arms.

Although it still pained him to know what his brother was going to go through, Alex knew that it was his wish. He wouldn't be able to stop him, not when he wanted it so badly. He'd struggled with his own emotions when he'd explained to the Professor what he'd decided to do. It had hurt him too, but like Alex, he had bowed to the inevitable.

It also didn't help that Alex was the one beating up his brother during their practice sessions. Sometimes Sean did it, but he knew that Sean went easy on him. He couldn't allow that. It hurt him every time he had to hit Scott because he left his side open, that his bruises were caused by him.

Almost every day he was causing his brother more pain. They had decided to give them all a strong physical background before focusing on using their powers in combative ways. It was good for Scott: Alex knew that he still struggled to accept his powers. He'd caught his brother fingering his goggles from time to time, almost as though he were scared that they would fall off during practice sessions. Yet another thing that was causing him pain as Alex continued to push him.

It was the only thing he could do to protect him though. The Brotherhood were murderers, and if his brother insisted on fighting them, then he was going to be able to hit back just as hard as they were. Him and the rest. At least it was a little easier to teach them how to fight: he cared about them, but they weren't his blood.

Alex turned back, knowing that the Professor was nearing the end of his speech.

"But I can say that you will all be exceptional," The Professor said, "I have been granted a gift in being able to oversee your education for the past few years. I consider it to be one of my greatest accomplishments."

He smiled.

"As the first class to graduate from this school, I wish you all the best in the world," he said, "Know that you carry the hopes and dreams of an entire race with you, but do not feel burdened by this."

The Professor spread his hands out.

"Rather, see yourselves as the pioneers of a new world," he said, "It is yours to shape. I have confidence that every one of you will mold it into a better world than it is now."

He moved away from the stage and there was scattered applause. Alex took a deep breath, waiting as the names were called out. Sean was first alphabetically, just like he would always be. What else could you expect from a name like Cassidy?

"Sean Cassidy."

Sean got up and walked to the stage, all smiles and freckles, to shake the Professor's hand. He still hadn't completely grown out of his awkwardness, but Alex could see that he was getting there. Like all of them, he'd become more somber after Moira's death.

The other names went by, names of people he barely knew. Finally, it was time.

"Alexander Summers."

He got up and walked up the steps to the stage. The Professor was waiting for him there with his diploma. Despite himself, Alex felt his hand tremble when he reached out to take it. This was it.

Alex grasped his diploma. Then, with his other hand, he shook the Professor's hand.

_I'm very proud of you._

Alex smiled.

_Hey, you're the one who said I should be a teacher. _

_And you're the one who proved me right_, the Professor thought, _I always like it when that happens_.

Alex's smile turned into a grin. He let go of the Professor's hand and walked off the stage. He gave a thumbs-up to Lorna, Hank, and Scott, before taking his seat. He knew he would only be seated for a few minutes before the Professor told them to stand again, but still.

"The class of 1969!" the Professor said.

Alex jumped back up and tossed his hat into the air. The rest of the students did too, even if there were only five of them. He watched his hat soar and thought of the boy he'd been seven years ago, defiant, sullen, going nowhere.

Now he'd just graduated from college. In four years.

"Yeah!" he said, punching the air.

Sean caught his eye and grinned. He put his arm around his shoulder as the small gathering broke up, steering him towards their friends. Scott moved forwards and stood in front of him. At fourteen Alex figured that Scott was too old to be hugged and have his hair ruffled.

He did it anyway.

"Alex!" Scott complained.

Alex laughed and pulled away.

"I can't help it Scotty boy," he said, "I'm excited. And I'm your teacher, so if you don't let me do that then I can put you in detention."

"You can't," Scott said, rolling his eyes.

"I can try."

"Grow up," Hank said.

"Didn't you hear the Professor?" Alex smiled, "I just did."

"Right, right," Lorna said, crossing her arms.

Alex just laughed again. He could feel a strange giddiness inside him, one that he hadn't known that he'd possessed. He kept thinking about how he'd done it, how he'd somehow managed to make it all work. The road behind him hadn't been easy, and he doubted that the road ahead would be any better, but the road right now was pretty damn good.

"Okay," he said, "How about I make it up to you? I did get an advance, so how about I take you out to dinner? In the town?"

"Seriously?" Hank said, raising his eyebrows, "I know the advance wasn't that big, and you really should start saving-"

"I'll save the next one," Alex said, waving away Hank's concerns, "Come on. Just give me five minutes to change out of my wizard robes."

"You do look like a wizard," Scott said.

Alex grinned and headed back to the Institute. He all but threw off his graduation robes as soon as he got into his room. They had served their purpose, and he couldn't wait to get them off. He switched from his business shoes into sneakers and changed into jeans and a tank.

There was a knock on the door.

"I'm done!" he yelled.

Lorna opened the door. She was still in the white sundress she'd worn to the ceremony. Now that they were in private, and she was standing up, he could see just how well it showed off her legs. She must have caught him staring, because rolled her eyes.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Lorna said.

"Do you have a camera?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes again.

"Yeah, best not," he said, "Now that I'm a teacher people might begin to talk, you being a student and all."

Lorna made a face.

"Let's not talk about it that way," she said, "That sounds creepy."

"Hey, the Professor knows how it really is," Alex said, "Not like I'm teaching your grade or anything."

"I'm not concerned about that," she said, "It just sounds creepy."

"Have it your way," Alex laughed.

He moved forwards and wrapped his arms around her waist. She hesitated and put her hands on his chest.

"Alex, I was just um..." she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She bit her lip.

"I think enough time has passed that we don't have to meet each other like we used to in the lab," she said.

A faint blush appeared on her face.

"Or in our rooms," she said.

Alex blinked. He didn't really understand the blush: it wasn't as though they had done anything other than hold each other and kiss a few times. Even so, the idea of not meeting her anymore, of not being able to hold her when he slept, was not a pleasant one.

"Why?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"For one we're not supposed to," Lorna said, her tone matching his, "And...really, I think that we might not need to anymore."

She sighed.

"I'm not over it. I don't think anyone gets over something like this," she said, "But, that aching need to hold someone, to talk to them, that's not there anymore. If it's still there for you then that's one thing, but..."

Her green eyes met his.

"It's not there for me either," he admitted, "Still though."

"Still what?"

"What if I want to hold you just to hold you?" he asked.

Her blush increased.

"Alex...I don't want to...I'm not...I'm not ready for that," she said.

The emphasis on the word 'that' made it obvious what she was talking about. He had a vague idea about what her feelings would be on that subject. She had been raised by a single mother after all.

"I respect that," he said, "And I'm cool with not doing that. I just like, well, I just like having you close to be honest."

She looked up, a small smile on her lips. He could feel his chest tightening, but what was there to lose? He had just graduated college: it was time to be an adult.

"I think I love you," he said.

Her eyes widened. She pushed herself up and kissed him. He pulled her close and felt her hands slide behind his neck. They had been together for four years now. He wondered what it would be like in another four years, if he'd be able to admit that he couldn't imagine his life without her anymore.

She released him and smiled.

"I love you too Alex," she said.

Lorna kissed his cheek.

"But right now the rest are probably wondering where we are," she said.

"Right," Alex said, "Right."

Her smile widened as she headed towards the door, her white dress moving around her. Alex began to wonder how many paychecks it would take to get her a ring.


	53. Chapter 53

Scott looked at the targets at the other side of the room. He knew he was being stupid and, more than that, he wasn't even being creative. He wasn't going to be able to hit the targets, no more than he'd been able to hit them for the past few weeks. Then again, it was impossible to hit anything when he never flipped his visor's dial.

He felt like an idiot for coming back to the Danger Room every night, and perhaps a little crazy. The definition of insanity was doing the same thing and expecting different results after all.

Scott rolled his shoulder. Why wasn't he resting? He'd just spent several hours taking a beating from his brother. He hadn't thought that it would be quite so hard to learn how to fight. He'd been taking a few rudimentary lessons for the past few years after all.

However, it appeared there was a marked difference between the type of fighting that your big brother teaches you to defend yourself against bullies and the type your field leader teaches to go into battle with. Alex was merciless and, more than often, Scott found himself walking away bruised and battered.

Afterwards Alex would hover over him, worried. Sometimes Scott had wanted to shout at him, to make a snide remark about how worried he was when he'd been the one that was pummeling him.

He'd held back because it was Alex. Still, it had gotten to him. He'd found it difficult to fight Alex, but apparently he didn't. It hurt more than he'd like to admit to think that.

One time though, one time his words had slipped out. He'd been horrified and rushed to apologize. This was Alex after all, the brother who'd protected him ever since he was little. He had his reasons for doing what he was doing, even if Scott didn't understand him.

Instead of letting him apologize, Alex had held up his hand and given him a frank look.

"I'm not your brother in there Scotty boy," he'd said, "But out here, I am. I can be worried about you out here."

He'd shaken his head.

"And out there, in the battlefield, we can't be each others' first priorities," Alex had continued, "I don't know just how that will shake out, but we need to at least try. So, again, how are you doing Scott?"

After that Scott hadn't complained. He'd asked for this, hadn't he? No one had told him to join them. If anything, they'd told him not to. Alex certainly had, and sometimes he saw the others looking at him with worried eyes. Were they all worried about Alex's whiny little brother? Were they all worried that he wasn't going to make it?

So he'd shut his mouth and studied form. He'd spent less time reading books and more time lifting weights. He'd slowly started to improve, his strength and finesse building. In two years, when he turned sixteen, he'd tell his brother he was ready to be an X-man. It wouldn't be a lie then.

Or it wouldn't be if he could just turn the dial on his goggles. His power was his greatest weapon, no matter what Alex had told him about his physical prowess. He wouldn't be able to depend on punching and kicking all the time in the field. What if his target was standing at the other side of the hallway? You didn't have to be a strategist to recognize the power of a long-range attack.

Beyond that, it was part of being an X-man. The X-men used both their powers and their bodies when they fought. He'd have to learn to do so too. When they started incorporating their power into their training, he wanted to be ready.

So why was it so difficult to turn the dial? Every time he put his hand up to the dial, determined to turn it, to blast the targets in front of him. Every single time his hand faltered before it had even touched it.

He scowled and narrowed his eyes. Surely he should be able to do this. It wasn't that difficult, shouldn't be difficult. He could only feel angry at what was happening, at what he was failing to do. He couldn't be an X-man without gaining control over his powers. If he never used them, then he wouldn't be able to control them. He wouldn't be able to do anything.

Why was this so difficult? It had been years and years since he had last used his powers. Logically, he should have forgotten about just what it was that they could do. The memories of destroying that building, setting it on fire, should have faded from his mind.

However, he could still remember it as though it happened yesterday. The day hadn't been any worse than any other since he'd learned that, if he just kept his head down, he could bumble his way through his classes and any social interactions well enough.

Scott still wasn't sure why they chose him to pick on that day, or why they waited until he was alone outside. It wasn't as though anyone was going to protect him. Mr. Windsor had made it perfectly clear that he believed that Scott had been making it all up. He could remember the sneers, the pushing, the names.

_Orphan. Weirdo. Ugly. Fat. Orphan. Stupid. Loner. Orphan. ORPHAN_.

The next thing he knew he'd seen red, and he'd felt heat. Scott had felt like fire had been burning in his veins, and he thought of the last time he'd been that close to fire. His vision blurred and he was inside the plane, his parents saying goodbye, telling Alex to take care of him.

He'd watched as the building across the street had shattered, gone up in flames. Scott hadn't understood what was happening, wondering if maybe he was dreaming. Then the fire had leapt up higher and the other kids had begun screaming. Then he'd realized that he was doing it.

Scott had shut his eyes. He hadn't opened them until a day later, when a gentle voice had told him that it was alright, that he had some sunglasses that would help him. He'd opened his eyes then and seen that, despite all of the terror that he'd felt, one good thing had happened because of his powers. He'd found his brother.

If only he could hold on to that thought when he tried to use them again. Good things had happened because of his powers. He'd been given his brother back and a good home. Why could he only remember the negative?

He looked at his watch. It was almost dinner. He glared at the targets as he put them away. He thought of Warren, Ororo, and Clarice. They were training to be X-men too, but they were much more comfortable with their powers than he was. They might not be as physically advanced as he was, but at least they weren't scared of what they could do.

Even Rahne, who had just turned ten, was more confident about what she was than him.

"Stupid," he muttered.

He threw the targets into the locker at the back of the room and stalked out. Scott looked at his watch again and headed towards the library. He wasn't sure just what it was that he wanted to do in the five minutes left before dinner, but he couldn't let anyone see that he'd come from the Danger Room. They would start asking questions if they did.

As far as he knew, no one knew that he was spending an hour each night staring at targets. Scott supposed that he could say that he'd been practicing his movements or lifting weights again if they caught him coming from there, but someone might ask to join him or figure out he was lying. He still had difficulty lying.

He wanted to keep what he was doing a secret. He didn't want his brother to think that he was a whiner and a coward. He'd already been enough of both in the last year to last him a lifetime.

He made it around a corner just to see his brother jogging through the halls. He was wearing a suit and a tie. It was always strange to see his brother wearing business clothes now that school was back in session, even though he was technically a fully-fledged adult now. Even as a student teacher he tended to forgo the tie or the jacket.

He stopped when he saw Scott. For a moment Scott felt his stomach clench. Alex knew. He knew that he couldn't find the courage to pull the dial back. It must seem pitiful when he used his own powers every day.

His brother took a breath and wiped his hands on his shirt.

"Has Ororo already gone into dinner?" he asked.

Scott shrugged, relief gushing inside of him. He was just being paranoid.

"She usually likes to get there early though," he offered.

"Damn," Alex said, "How about Clarice?"

"I've never beaten her to a meal," Scott said, "Not even when I threw up that first morning training and felt hungry enough to eat my socks."

Alex's eyebrows raised.

"You're getting pretty blunt Scotty boy," he said.

"No point in denying it," Scott said.

"Well, that rules her out too if I don't want to make a scene," Alex said, "I'm running out of time..."

He gave Scott a thoughtful look.

"You're not hungry enough to eat your own socks right now, are you?" he asked.

"No," Scott said.

"Okay, then you'll have to do," Alex said.

"Gee, thanks," Scott said.

Alex rolled his eyes and gestured to him. Scott drew level with him as Alex stalked down the hall.

"We've got a new student," Alex said, "I wanted to give them a tour, but there are a few complications. Their dad's here and he's looking at the place real suspicious, so the Professor and I are going to have to focus on him."

He ran a hand through his hair.

"We really need to convince him," Alex said.

"More so than usual?" Scott asked.

"Yeah," Alex said, "The Professor thinks that this place can really do them a world of good. They're shy though, and I can't just ignore them while we're going around and showing the place off to their dad. From what I've seen, they'll want answers about this place. Got high IQ scores and everything. I was looking for someone their age when I ran into you."

Scott furrowed his brow.

"Clarice and Ororo are two years apart," he said.

"Got it in one," Alex said.

"And I'm in the middle," Scott said, "So why did you ask for someone younger than me when I said Ororo was probably in the dining hall?"

"They're girls," Alex said.

Scott nodded, understanding.

"And this person is a girl too?" he asked.

"Yep," Alex said, "She's your age, but I thought a girl might put her more at ease. Looks like we'll have to cope with you. Just don't weird her out too much."

Alex grinned and Scott punched him in the shoulder. His brother punched him back as they rounded the corner. Immediately Scott saw the Professor talking to a man with a bushy mustache and scowling eyes. He supposed that was the father.

A few feet away well he saw a teenage girl standing nervously off to the side, her face covered by her hair. Alex coughed and the Professor and the man stopped talking. The girl turned at once, letting Scott really see her.

Her heart-shaped face was framed perfectly by her flaming red-hair that she'd pulled back with a headband. Her eyes were wide, giving him the impression of a doe that was, despite its innocence, figuring him out.

She had to be the most beautiful person Scott had ever seen.

"Sorry for the delay," Alex said, "This is my younger brother, Scott."

He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Scott, this is Mr. Grey and his daughter Jean," Alex said.


	54. Chapter 54

"So what can you do?" Ororo asked.

Jean looked shyly down at the table they were eating at. Her father had agreed to let her go there the day before, and they'd moved in that morning. It had all happened so quickly, but Scott couldn't see it as a bad thing. She'd been shy and nervous when he'd met her, but they'd still managed to form something of a friendship.

Scott had immediately offered to introduce her to his friends. He figured that they'd gotten on well enough when he was giving her the tour. As such that meant that she'd get along with his friends too. It had always worked that way in the past.

Ororo continued looking at Jean, waiting patiently. After a few moments Ororo's tray slid down the table by itself. Ororo took her hands from the table immediately, her eyes wide. Then she laughed.

"Awesome!" she said, "You're telepathic!"

"Ororo, she's telekinetic," Warren corrected, "Telepathic means she can read minds."

"I can do that too," Jean said, her voice quiet.

Ororo's grin widened and she punched the air.

"I was right!" she said.

"No, you weren't," Warren said, "You used the wrong word, and you were lucky enough that she was that too."

"Shut up."

"You first."

"Ignore them," Scott said, "They can get kind of rowdy sometimes."

"No, it's fine," Jean said, smiling, "It's nice being around other people."

The smile fell off her face, as though she suddenly realized that she'd said too much. Scott pretended like he hadn't heard anything. He'd been at the Institute long enough to know when people wanted to talk about it and when they didn't.

"So, are you interested in any of your classes?" Scott asked.

She perked up, obviously happy that they had changed the subject.

"Yes," she said, "I'm taking advanced mathematics and biology. It's biology tomorrow that I'm really excited about though. I'd like to be a doctor someday. The Professor mentioned that there was a chance that I could do some advanced studying under someone named Dr. McCoy?"

Scott nodded.

"We just call him Hank," he said, "He's really smart. Graduated Harvard when he was fifteen."

"Oh," Jean said, looking surprised, "How old is he now?"

"Like twenty four, twenty five?" Warren said, "I don't know. All old people look alike to me."

"I'm surprised that the government didn't try to hire him," Jean said.

There was a slight pause.

"Yeah, Jean, about that," Scott said, "The thing about Hank is...well...um..."

He thought about the words that his brother had used when he tried to explain about Hank.

"Hank looks kind of like a lion and is covered in blue fur," he said, "And he's got yellow eyes."

Jean's doe eyes widened.

"What?" she asked.

"He's great," Scott said, "But he's a little self-conscious about that."

"There are a couple of people around here who look a little different," Ororo said, "And there's nothing wrong with that."

"Well, no but-" Jean began.

"But what?"

Scott winced. Of all the things to be talking about when Clarice came to the table. She sat down across from Jean, Rahne sitting down next to her. Rahne gave Jean a friendly, but somewhat uncertain smile. Clarice just gave Jean a blank look.

"But what?" she said.

"Just, I haven't seen anyone like that before," Jean managed.

"Hm," Clarice said.

She looked down at her sandwich, examining it.

"Who's this?" she asked, not looking up.

"Jean Grey," Scott said, "She just moved in."

"Hm," Clarice said again.

She picked up her sandwich and began eating. Jean was staring at her, and Scott wished that she'd stop. He knew that it was the first time she'd seen someone as unique as Clarice, but sooner or later it was going to annoy Clarice. Beyond that, he didn't like thinking of Jean as the kind of person who would stare.

"I'm Rahne," Rahne said.

She held out her hand. Jean looked away from Clarice and shook Rahne's hand. She gave her another faltering smile.

"Pleased to meet you," she said.

She tilted her head back and looked at Clarice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name," Jean said.

Clarice looked up again, her face still blank.

"Clarice," she said stiffly.

"I'm pleased to meet you," Jean said.

She smiled. Clarice flickered her eyes up to Jean's before she looked down and took another bite of her sandwich. Jean's smile faltered again, but she quickly put on another one. She continued to talk throughout lunch, chattering amiably.

Every time she tried to talk to Clarice she received only clipped answers in reply though. Rahne would always pipe in and fill in the silences for her friend, but Scott could see that it was just depressing Jean. She didn't understand.

The bell rang and they got up. Scott deposited his tray and then ran after Jean. It didn't take long for him to catch up.

"It's not you," he said.

Jean looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Clarice," he said, "She's not angry at you."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have said that," Jean said, "It's my fault-"

"No, you really don't get it," Scott said.

He adjusted his backpack.

"Clarice is...standoffish the first time you meet her," Scott said, "She...some stuff...she's been through some stuff, and because of that she doesn't really like strangers. At all. Yeah, you threw her off with what you were talking about, but I think she got that your answer was genuine when you asked her name. She would've given you short answers if you'd said something nice to her when you first met. Maybe even more so."

"Why's that?" Jean asked.

_Because she doesn't always trust it when people are being nice,_ Scott thought, _The only one I think she fully trusts is Rahne, and I still don't know why that is. _

"It's just how she is," Scott said.

Jean looked down.

"I want to make friends here," she said, "I'm not sure if I know how."

Once more, he knew better than to ask about why that was.

"It's okay," he said, "It comes in time. It took me ages to get a friend, and that was only because Ororo pretty much picked me."

He laughed at the memory.

"You're doing a lot better than I did," he said, "I mean, you're already my friend."

She offered him yet another tentative smile.

"Thank you," she said.

Jean looked at the clock at the wall.

"I'd best get going," she said, "I don't want Miss Mahn to think that I'm a slacker."

"Alright," Scott said, "See you at dinner?"

"Yes," she said.

Scott watched her walk away, her long red hair falling into her face as she did so. He supposed that was why she wore headbands. Smiling to himself he hurried off to his next class. He couldn't have his teacher thinking he was a slacker either.

* * *

"How's she doing?" the Professor asked.

"Not too bad," Alex said, "She made friends with Scott, so that means he introduced her to his group."

He scratched the back of his neck.

"Knowing what we know about her though, they may be a little rowdy," he said.

"Perhaps that's what she needs," the Professor said, "She's spent too long locked up in that house."

Alex nodded. He crossed his arms.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," he said, "But if half the stuff you told me is true, then I understand why her father did it. Is he going to be okay now that she's gone?"

"They should lose interest in him, although I will monitor things for the next few days," the Professor said.

"He didn't seem too concerned."

"He was sending his daughter away to live amongst strangers for her protection. It was difficult for him to let her go," the Professor said, "I think he was more focused on that."

He sighed and steepled his fingers. Alex wondered why he stared out of the window so much now. He'd never used to.

"I understand that a little better now that I'm a father," he said, "Speaking of which, has she met Rahne yet?"

"Not that I know of, but if Jean keeps hanging out with Scott and the rest, then she's bound to," Alex said, "You know how often she hangs out with them. Why?"

"Well, Moira told me that Rahne was responsible for helping Clarice," the Professor said, "I just thought that she might be able to do something for Jean."

A small smile tugged at the corner of the Professor's lips.

"She is her mother's daughter," he said.

Alex nodded, but he didn't say anything. He never felt entirely comfortable whenever the Professor casually brought up Moira. Alex could still feel some of that pain, as he was sure that the Professor did, and he never knew what to say.

"In any case, I believe that her father was just trying to protect her," Charles said.

"It's still left her with a few issues," Alex said, stepping next to him.

Now that he was level with him he could see out of the window. The lawn was completely empty. Once again Alex wondered just what the Professor was looking at. He brushed it away and concentrated on the subject at hand.

"Do the other teachers know?" he asked.

The words 'other teachers' seemed foreign to his tongue. He might only be a student teacher, but he was carrying a large workload. That sort of thing was bound to happen at an understaffed school with a growing attendance record.

"They know that she has avoided other people for the past few years," the Professor said, "But they don't know why. I thought it was best to leave that out."

"Yeah, maybe," Alex said.

He scratched the back of his neck again.

"What the hell did Magneto want with her?" he asked.

"I'm still uncertain," the Professor said, his bearded chin resting on one of his hands, "I don't even know how he found out about her: her father did a very good job of covering her tracks. Still, he lost Emma Frost long ago. Maybe he simply wants another telepath."

Alex shook his head in disgust.

"Yeah, but she's fourteen," he said, "That's too damn young."

"And yet we're training fourteen-year-olds ourselves," the Professor said.

"That's different," Alex said, "Scott and the rest aren't stepping a foot onto the field a day before they turn sixteen."

"Sixteen," the Professor mused, "That's our standard for being old enough to enter a battlefield."

The Professor tilted his head back, folding his hands in his lap.

"At least it's not fifteen anymore," he said.

"Hey, we made that choice," Alex said, "And we're not the only ones recruiting young. If Toad's any older than fifteen then I'm a raccoon."

"Hm, yes, of course," the Professor said.

He straightened again.

"If she stays with them too long, then she will find out," the Professor said.

It had been on Alex's mind too.

"They know to be careful," he said, "I'll be sure to remind them. Goes without saying really."

"This also goes without saying, but keep an eye on her," the Professor said.

"Sure thing," Alex said.

He looked at his watch.

"I have to get downstairs," he said, "I have another class soon."

"Of course," the Professor said.

Alex turned and began to walk out of the room. Halfway to the door he stopped.

"Professor?" he asked.

"Yes Alex?" the Professor asked.

Alex made a face.

"You should really shave," he said, "You look like a hippy."

"Duly noted. Now get to work."

"Yessir."


	55. Chapter 55

"It's not that difficult when you get the hang of it," Jean said.

Scott just shook his head. People had been saying that to him for years. Math really had never been one of his stronger subjects.

"It isn't," he said, "Not really, but we can pretend that it is if it makes you feel better."

He grinned and Jean offered a shy one back. It seemed like it was his fate to be routinely surrounded by people smarter than him. Still, he didn't have the time for her to explain it too much. He had a session with Alex in a couple of minutes.

It didn't mean that he didn't have any time to chat though.

"How's biology going with Hank?" he asked.

"He's very kind," Jean said, "And he's very smart. We were discussing different ways to set a fracture earlier this morning. I think that there should be a better method for greenstick fractures, and he showed me an alternate one. I've never seen a diagram of it before."

"You said it yourself," Scott said, "Hank's smart."

"I know," Jean said, "I just didn't know that he'd be coming up with his own medical theories. I can't imagine that they get much practice here."

Scott thought of all the times he'd watched the X-men come in, battered and bruised.

"Well, it's a whole school filled with mutants with volatile powers," he said, "And they horse around like anybody else. It happens."

Jean tucked some of her hair behind her headband.

"You know, you've never told me what your mutation is," she said.

He felt something freeze up inside of him. Scott shrugged.

"You didn't ask," he said.

It was true enough. They had known each other for several weeks now, and she hadn't asked about his mutation. He hadn't volunteered the information like the others had, and she'd been struggling enough with her new life to try to figure out a hidden mutation.

He supposed things had calmed down enough for her to be curious.

"I'm asking now," Jean said.

"It's nothing interesting," he said.

She laughed.

"I don't think that's true," Jean said.

She leaned closer. He immediately leaned back. Jean didn't seem to notice.

"Is it something to do with your goggles?" she asked.

"Um, yeah," Scott said, "My eyes do this thing and um, yeah."

She cocked her head.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Well," Scott swallowed, "It's kind of like lasers."

"You can shoot lasers out of your eyes?" Jean asked.

She looked excited. He swallowed again.

"Yes," he said.

"That's amazing," Jean said, "Can you show me?"

He felt his breath choke in his throat.

"Show you?" he asked.

His voice came across hoarse and incredulous. Her eyes flickered around the room.

"Not in here I guess," she said, "Maybe we can go outside."

"Or not," Scott said.

Jean frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to," Scott muttered.

She tilted her head slightly, her hair falling over her shoulders.

"I thought we didn't have to be afraid here," she said.

Although her words sounded like they should be a question, they weren't. Scott closed his eyes for a moment, trying to find words to explain. No, he didn't have to be afraid. He just couldn't seem to get past it.

He felt his goggles jostle. His eyes flew open and he saw that Jean had put her fingertips on the red visor. Scott could feel his heart rate increase.

"Jean?"

"Yes?

He swallowed.

"You are making me really, really uncomfortable," he said.

Jean removed her hand as though she'd touched a stove.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, "I wasn't trying to be...to be forward..."

Despite his still rapidly-beating heart, Scott wanted to laugh at her words. At any other time he might have, not that he supposed it was anything to laugh about. Forward? Who spoke like that anymore?

However, all laughter had died.

"Jean, I'm wearing these goggles for a reason," he said, "I don't...when I open my eyes, the lasers come out. The goggles stop them. Without them the whole room would be on fire."

She gave him a quick glance.

"I know how that feels," she said.

"Do you now?"

He couldn't help the sarcastic edge in his voice. Jean didn't seem to notice it.

"Sometimes I could hear the thoughts of the entire neighborhood," she said, "I wasn't trying, and I didn't know...I couldn't stop. So...I...I would go up to my room and hide under my bed, begging them all to stop thinking. But they...they wouldn't. And, well, I lost myself for hours, not sure who was who."

She got up. Scott watched her as she did, watched the way she curled in on herself as she moved. It reminded him of Rahne, of the way she curled around Moira for protection. Jean didn't have anyone to go to though.

How did he not notice it before? She wasn't shy, and she hadn't been abused. Jean's father hadn't hated her for her powers, and it all seemed so obvious now. It was just that she was just as scared of her mutation as he was of his, if not more so.

No wonder she'd bitten her lip the first time Ororo asked her to demonstrate her powers.

"I'm sorry I touched your goggles," she said.

"I'm sorry I snapped," Scott said.

He gave a shy smile.

"If it helps," he said, "This is the one place that we don't have to be scared."

She smiled back. Scott saw the clock strike three behind her, and picked up his books.

"I need to go," he said, "My brother's waiting for me."

"Alright," Jean said.

"See you at dinner," he said.

She nodded and Scott left the room. He had to run to the Danger Room and, once he was there, he had to hastily change into his practice clothes. His brother was already waiting for him when he came in.

"Two minutes late," Alex said, "Twenty push-ups."

Scott dropped and began working. With each push-up he thought of Jean's soft voice confessing her own fear. She'd been so scared and halting, and the way she'd apologized afterwards. As if he could be angry after she'd told him that.

"And twenty," Alex said.

He got to his feet just as his brother threw a punch at him. Scott deflected it and began moving around his brother, one movement at a time. It was a well-rehearsed pattern, and continued on for several minutes.

"Left, right, left!" Alex shouted.

Scott threw up his arms, trying to block his brother's punches. It still irritated him that Alex felt the need to yell out the direction his blocks should be going. He didn't need to be told anymore. Sometimes he had to keep alternating. Alex had explained to him that a fight was like a dance, one where you could never stop moving.

He dodged the punch that went to his right, but he wasn't able to get his arms up again. The last one hit him on his shoulder, and Scott struggled to regain his balance. When he did he lashed out at his brother, kicking him in the chest.

Or he would have, if Alex hadn't caught his foot and shoved him forward. Scott fully lost his balance this time, and was sent to the ground. He hit his head hard, and saw Alex looking down at him, arms crossed. He knew that gesture enough to know that it meant that, if they were fighting in real life, he'd be dead.

His brother nodded and uncrossed her arms. He knelt down and held his hand out to him.

"And that's ten minutes," he said, pulling Scott to his feet, "You're getting a lot better Scotty boy."

Scott grinned and picked up a towel.

"When are you going to stop calling me that?" he asked.

"Never," Alex said, "That wouldn't be fun."

Scott slumped down on one of the practice benches. He'd turned fifteen a few months before. One more year until he told his brother he was ready, one more year until he became an X-man.

If, of course, he could pull back that damn dial on his goggles. If, like Jean, he could really feel that there was nothing to be scared about.

"I am serious though," Alex said, "You are getting better. In a couple of months we're going to talk about adding your powers to the curriculum."

He winced inwardly. His brother was reading his thoughts. Somehow he just knew it.

"How is that coming?" Alex said.

"Fine."

"You don't have to lie," Alex said.

Scott grabbed a water bottle and took a deep swig. He hesitated. It was better to just try to work through it himself. His brother didn't need to know everything that was going through his head all the time. He could say fine and just try to work it out.

But it was Alex. If Jean had confessed to him, and she barely knew him, then he could tell his brother.

"I haven't used my powers since that day I knocked myself across the Danger Room," Scott admitted.

Alex remained silent, listening.

"I've tried," Scott said, "I really have. I just can't...I can't turn the dial. I try every day, but I can't bring myself to turn it."

He sighed and used the towel to wipe away some of the sweat on his forehead.

"It shouldn't be different for me," he said, "Everyone else can at least use their powers."

"You're not the only one who's insecure about what they can do Scott," Alex said.

He thought of Jean, but his mind immediately brought up the rest of his friends who were training to be X-men.

"Name one other person who's insecure about their mutation," Scott said.

"You wanna play that game?" Alex asked, "Okay. Warren, Hank, Clarice, Ororo-"

"They're not insecure about their mutations," Scott said.

Alex laughed.

"Scott, there is a very big difference between being able to use your powers and actually feeling secure about them," he said, "Warren puts the harness on as soon as he walks outside of the Institute. Ororo gets nervous. Hank hasn't been outside of the Institute for more than a few hours in years. I have no idea about how Clarice feels, but I'm sure it's not all roses and cream for her either. They're all just like you."

Scott turned away.

"You shouldn't be telling me their secrets," he said.

"They're not secrets," Alex said, "It's just stuff that I know."

Scott still looked at the wall. He heard his brother sigh.

"Scott, I'm a teacher now," Alex said, "Part of my responsibility is to make sure that all of my students get a chance."

"A chance at what?"

"Life," Alex said.

Something slumped inside of him.

"Sometimes you make me feel selfish," he said.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"You're always thinking about other people," Scott said, looking at him again, "And-"

His brother burst out into laughter.

"Are you serious?" he gasped, "Oh God Scott, you're funny, you're really funny."

"What?" Scott demanded.

His brother wiped some tears out of his eyes.

"Nothing," he said, "It's just that you...you're the one who sees the best in people, makes them want to be their best. You're the one who started standing up for your friends: they followed suit. And you bring out the best in me. More than anyone else here, you make me want to be a good person."

Alex laughed again and looked down at his hands. Scott stared at him.

"I'm not..."

"But you are," Alex said, "Scott, you're my only family. I want to do right by you."

He coughed.

"Which is why I want to ask you something," Alex said.


	56. Chapter 56

Lorna had finished brushing her hair when she heard the knock on the door.

"You're taking forever!" Alex said.

She rolled her eyes and opened the door. Alex gave her an appreciative look as she leaned against the doorway. It didn't make her feel any better.

"I timed myself," she said, "I took exactly five minutes and thirty seconds."

"That's five minutes and thirty seconds too long," Alex said.

"I doubt you want me going out with you in my pajamas," Lorna said.

He gave her a cheeky smile.

"Depends," he said, "What do you sleep in?"

She rolled her eyes again. Alex held out his hand and she took it. She had just completed her last final that day and was more than confident that she had passed. It was a relief to go out with all of that behind her.

Of course, she knew that they wouldn't really be going out. Not with the poor weather report. Beyond that, now that Alex had a full-time job he'd been saving money for 'the future' as he put it. Lorna agreed with it: they weren't teenagers blowing their pocket money anymore after all. She was glad that he was taking something seriously now.

As such he'd been coming up with 'creative dates.' They were actually creative, and it worked perfectly because Lorna had been so busy preparing to graduate. The Professor had automatically offered her a job as a student teacher, which worked just fine with her. She knew how bad the Institute needed teachers.

"So, what are we doing?" she asked.

He grinned at her over his shoulder.

"Just follow me, okay?" he said.

"Alright," Lorna said, amused.

He led her down to the garage and went over to his motorcycle.

"Alex?"

"Yep," he said.

"Did you watch the news?" she asked, "There's supposed to be a massive rain shower tonight."

"You can't believe everything you watch on TV," Alex said.

She raised her eyebrows. Alex held out his hand to her.

"You're an X-man," he said, "You're not afraid of a little rain, are you?"

"I'm not the one who spends an hour messing with their hair," Lorna said.

"Do not!"

"I can smell the product from here," Lorna said.

"I do not use product in my hair," he said.

She ignored him and got on the back of his motorcycle. Lorna wrapped her arms around his waist, letting her fingertips rest on his chest. She grinned when she felt him shiver.

Just for good measure she pressed a kiss to the side of his neck.

"You...you can't do that while I'm driving," he said after awhile.

"We're not driving yet," she said.

He looked over his shoulder at her and grinned. Alex revved up the bike's the engine.

"Ready for this?" he asked.

"The guy who just pointed out that I fight terrorists on a weekly basis decides to ask if I'm ready for this?" Lorna laughed, "Alex, I can take anything you throw at me."

"As you say," Alex said, turning his head so that it faced forward and kicking away the brake.

* * *

"I want two hundred dollars," Rahne said.

Charles shook his head.

"Rahne, you haven't passed go yet," he said.

She frowned and looked at the squares of the Monopoly board.

"I'm almost there," she said.

"Almost and being there are two completely different things," Charles said, grinning, "You're going to have to wait a little longer before you can collect any money."

She made a face and swung her legs underneath the table.

"I don't like this game very much," she said.

"I suppose we can rule out a future in business for you then," Charles said, "There go all my hopes and dreams."

Rahne stuck her tongue out at him and picked up a card.

"Dad," she said, "Can I ask you a question?"

Charles smiled to himself, as he always did whenever Rahne called him 'Dad.' It hadn't been easy for her. She had often stumbled over the title, catching herself right before she called him 'Professor.' That had been painful, for many reasons.

She had never had any problems with calling Moira mother. However, he knew perfectly well how different that was. Rahne had been calling Moira her mother even before Moira had accepted the title.

He was glad that she had, both because of the love they had both born each other. Rahne still loved Moira, still put flowers on her grave with Charles. More than that though, Rahne was the part of her that Moira had left behind. They might not have been related, but they were so alike sometimes that he knew that Rahne had been born to be Moira's daughter.

She had, without knowing it, made sure that he wouldn't be alone.

"Of course," he said.

"Is something weird gonna happen tonight?" Rahne asked.

Charles frowned.

"Not that I'm aware of," he said, "Why do you ask?"

She put her cards down and rested her elbows on the table.

"Alex was acting real funny," she said, "He kept digging around in his pocket, looking kinda worried and then relieved. And he was cooking a lot with Scott. He can't cook, but Scott's okay."

"Ah," Charles said.

"And he was talking to Ororo, saying something about the weather. And then he was freaking out because he said Lorna was taking a long time," Rahne said, "But I don't think she took longer than five minutes."

"How do you know that?" he asked.

Rahne shrugged. Her ears became pointed and furry for a moment before they morphed back into human ears.

"I heard them," she said, "So, is something weird gonna happen."

He gave her a small smile.

"Not really," he said.

Charles leaned back. Rahne propped up her head, obviously waiting for more.

"You're very curious," he said.

"Maybe," Rhane said, "But do you know?"

He sighed, but didn't stop smiling.

"I do, yes," he said.

"And?" Rahne asked.

Charles looked at the clock. Yes, he imagined that Alex had taken Lorna to the lake by then. He looked back at Rahne. He knew that she was old enough to be told,a and it wouldn't be a secret when Alex and Lorna returned.

Perhaps she was old enough to understand.

"Tonight Alex is going to ask Lorna to marry him," he said.

Rahne's mouth dropped open. She blinked a few times before shutting her mouth and chewing on her tongue.

"So...she's gonna be like Scott's sister?" she asked.

"Sort of," Charles laughed, "There is a word for it. Sister-in-law."

"That's a dumb name," Rahne said, "It's like stepfather. It doesn't mean anything. You're either someone's relative or you're not."

Charles felt his chest tighten. Rahne always had such a beautiful way of simplifying things.

"Do you think they're gonna be happy?" she asked, "I mean, I think they love each other. I just wanna know if they're gonna be happy."

She rearranged her cards on the table and Charles put one of his fingers to his lips. Yes, of course Rahne would be worried about Lorna. Lorna was one of her oldest friends. She had never cared that Rahne was so much younger than she was, and she had willingly let her into her life.

He thought about his daughter's question for a moment more.

_He used his spare hand to pull out the ring he was carrying in his pocket. Tears spilled out of Moira's cheeks as he moved it towards her hand._

_"As it is, all I can give you is me," he said, "I love you Moira, and if you'll let me, I'll be your husband and a father to your daughter. There's nothing that I want more."_

_Moira bit her lip and nodded, her breath catching. He slipped the ring onto her finger before letting her hand go. Charles put his hands on either side of her face and pulled her in for a kiss. Her hands grasped his shoulders, pulling him close._

"I think there will only be unhappiness if she says no," Charles said, "And I don't think she will."

Rahne looked up from her cards.

"So they're gonna be happy like you and mom?" she asked.

His chest tightened. Rahne paused, unsure. Then she reached out and took his hand. He squeezed it back. There was quite a bit that they could have said, but it was summed up in that gesture. Rahne understood in a way that the others never could and share a burden of grief that she was too young to know.

It only made him want to take more of it on, to protect her. He supposed it was what any father felt for their daughter or any other child, what Alex would one day feel for his children. So instead of saying too much, he just smiled.

"Yes," Charles said, "They're going to be very happy."

* * *

Lorna leaned back on the blanket that Alex had spread out. The stars were shining clearly over them, not a hint of a cloud in the sky. When they'd arrived at the lake there had been a picnic dinner waiting for them.

"Scott and I got here a little early," Alex had explained.

She'd been expecting sandwiches at best, Alex wasn't known for his culinary prowess, but there was a four-course meal inside. It baffled her when Alex had found the time to do all of this, but it made it very hard not to kiss him.

He laid down next to her. Alex grinned and nudged her before pointing to the sky.

"If you look up there, you can see Polaris really well," he said.

She laughed.

"I can recognize my star," Lorna said.

"I can too," Alex said.

He rolled onto his side and propped his head onto his arm.

"Lorna, have I told you I love you tonight yet?" he asked.

She rolled and faced him.

"Not yet," she teased.

He didn't grin like she expected him to. Instead he reached out with his hand and cupped her chin.

"I mean it," he said, "I love you."

Lorna didn't understand why he was being so serious, but she could feel a strange thrill within her, just like she always did when he said he loved her in that tone. She put her hand on the outside of his palm and kissed it.

"Me too," she said.

He wriggled out of her grasp and let his fingers slide down her wrist.

"Lorna," he said, "I've been thinking and I..."

He trailed off before taking a deep breath.

"You're special Lorna," he said.

"Now you're the one teasing me," she said.

"No. I'm serious. You make me strong when I'm weak," he said, "You make me brave when I feel scared. And when...when my world fell apart, you showed me that it was okay to fall into someone's arms."

For some reason Lorna could feel her heart begin to beat faster. Using his other hand he began to dig in his pocket.

"And I'm okay with that," he said, "As long as it's your arms I fall into."

Alex took a ring out of his pocket, the pearl set in the gold band shimmering in the dim light from the stars. All feeling drained out of her.

"Lorna, I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he said, "Will you marry me?"

Lorna reached out and touched the ring, her voice choking.

"Of course," she said, "What...what took you so long?"

He laughed before putting the ring on her finger. Alex looked at it for a moment before reaching out and pulling her in for a kiss. It seemed to last for a long time, the two of them on the ground, the soft blanket beneath them and the stars above them.

When Alex pulled away he stayed close. Lorna could feel his breath on her lips.

"Forever?" he asked.

"As I said," Lorna whispered, "I can take anything you throw at me."


	57. Chapter 57

"So what do you think?" Warren asked, "Ice Age or meteorite?"

Jean stared at the display in front of her. She pressed her fingertips to the glass. The American Museum of Natural History did beautiful displays.

"Is it possible it wasn't either of those?" she asked.

Warren crossed his arms.

"What do you think it was then?" he asked.

She shrugged and took her fingertips off of the glass.

"I don't know," Jean said, "Maybe it was just their time to go."

"That sounds pretty fatalistic," Warren said.

A year ago Jean wouldn't have answered back. She would have just ducked her head and changed the subject, unwilling to argue. However, a year at the Institute had taught her that she had a valid voice and opinion.

And Scott had taught her that she didn't have to be afraid.

"Now you're sounding like you don't believe in it," Jean said.

Warren made a face.

"Are we going creationism here, or are we still talking evolution?" he asked.

"I wasn't aware that we were talking about either," Jean said.

He scratched the back of his head and looked over his shoulder. His face lit up.

"Aha," Warren said, "Now here's some people who are going to talk sense."

She turned. Scott was coming up to them, followed closely by Ororo and Clarice. Field trips at the Institute were few and far between, or so Jean had been led to believe. This one was only for the older students whose grades were above a certain level. There were only twelve who had been able to go, and Mr. Guthrie had agreed to take the bigger group.

Because it was so rare Clarice had agreed to come, albeit reluctantly. Jean understood why. She turned heads everywhere she went. Clarice reacted by jutting her chin up and staring straight ahead, acting as though everyone around them were as invisible to her as she was visible to them. Jean had to admire that kind of stubbornness.

She also had to pity it. Clarice hadn't relaxed once since they had left the Institute.

"Sense?" Scott said, "What were you talking about?"

Jean smiled.

"I was just explaining to Warren that I think simple science transcends belief," she said.

"No wonder chowder head here couldn't take it," Ororo said.

"Watch it airhead," Warren said.

"Watch it all of you," Alex said, walking up, "I don't want there to be a situation I have to break up. Not in a public place. But then again..."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think they'd notice a few more bones around here," he said.

"Quit it Alex," Scott laughed.

"Mr. Summers right now," Alex said.

He looked down at his watch.

"Are you guys about ready to go to the UN?" he asked, "We might not be able to make it past the lobby, but I think that we can make it there before we have to meet up with Guthrie if we hurry."

Inwardly Jean sighed. She hadn't seen half the halls she'd wanted to see.

"I don't know," Warren yawned, "Are you guys done staring at dead things?"

"Yes," Clarice said, "Although I doubt the UN will be more interesting in that regard."

Alex threw his head back and laughed. Scott joined in too and, not for the first time, Jean was struck by how different the two brothers were. She knew that not many people thought that, but she could see it.

Scott laughed like there was nothing holding him back. Alex didn't. She always felt like there was something holding him back, something that he was struggling against. He wasn't fully comfortable with them, and she knew it was more than him being the teacher and them being students.

There were a few scattered chuckles. Clarice furrowed her brow.

"I don't see how that was funny," she said.

"I'll tell you on the way over," Ororo said.

"Yeah, we're wasting time," Alex said, waving them over, "Let's get going."

Jean clasped her hands behind her back and followed them out of the dinosaur hall. She looked at the other halls longingly.

"Jean?"

Scott had drawn level with her, looking at her curiously.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said.

"No it's not," Scott said, "You can tell me you know."

Jean knew. She was starting to suspect that she could tell Scott just about anything.

"I just feel like we didn't have enough time here," she said.

"Well, we'll come back," Scott said.

"When?"

"Dunno," Scott said, "Maybe you could talk to the Professor and convince him to make this a yearly thing. We've all been having a great time."

Jean's eyes slid over to Clarice, who still stood stiff as a board. When she looked back at Scott, his eyes had lowered.

"This might be good," he said, his voice lowered, "I think that she...she can't stay at the Institute forever. Maybe we should've brought Rahne though. She's always more relaxed when she's around her."

Jean had no clue what the relationship between Clarice and Rahne was. Rahne ran around the Institute, her eyes full of light. There was something a little restrained about her at times, but that was something she had in common with just about everyone at the Institute. Rahne filled in dialogue for Clarice and, despite being annoyed at the much-younger girl's constant shadowing, Clarice seemed to enjoy it.

"Maybe," she allowed.

She sighed.

"I just don't think we'll be back any time soon," she said.

"Hey, you don't know that for sure," Scott said, "And one day, you might even be leading these trips."

Jean laughed.

"I said I wanted to be a doctor, not a teacher," she said.

"You can be both," Scott said, "Just like Hank."

"Well Hank-"

The doors in the main hall flew inward, crashing into the opposite wall. Jean immediately felt Scott's hands grab her and pull her to the side. The rest of the students had done the same. Alex stood in front of them all, his arm pushing them back into the corridor.

Immediately three figures stepped in. Jean thought she saw the flash of sirens outside the museum, but she couldn't be sure. One of the figures stomped his foot on the ground, causing it to rumble. Some debris fell from the ceiling and there were a few scattered screams.

A fourth figure walked in, and now Jean could hear the sirens perfectly well. He glanced back and waved one of his arms. The doors sealed themselves behind them and, despite the distance between them, Jean felt fear begin to poison her veins.

"Not him," she whispered.

Scott looked at her and she shrank away even further from the main hall. She wanted to run, but her feet felt frozen.

"Hostages?" a blue woman drawled.

Magneto waved his hand dismissively. Alex took a deep breath.

"Clarice, teleport everyone outside and call the Institute," he said, "Tell them that the Brotherhood's at the American Museum of Natural History. Lorna should pick up. She'll know what to do."

Scott grabbed Alex's arm. Jean just blinked. What did Alex's fiancée have to do with this?

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm going to take care of this," Alex said.

"But there's four of them!" Scott said, "You need our help!"

Jean saw Alex stare at his brother. She felt lost. What were they talking about?

"No," Alex said, "I told you not a day before you turned sixteen, and I meant it."

"I turn sixteen in two weeks!" Scott begged, "Ororo's already sixteen! I'm not leaving you-"

"Clarice," Alex hissed.

He wrenched his arm out of Scott's grip. Jean saw a flash of magenta light and they were standing on the opposite side of the street from the museum. The whole street was flooded with police cars. Scott was staring straight forward, his mouth open.

Jean's fear was slowly being replaced by curiosity. What was a school teacher planning on doing?

* * *

Alex ran towards the stairs and took them four at a time. When he reached the next floor he could see the first floor a little better. It was Magneto, Avalanche, Mystique, and Toad. He could take them if he played it smart.

Despite his confidence with Scott, Alex knew that he was in a bad position. He was outnumbered, but the only back-up he could get was miles away. If he waited any longer then he wasn't sure what Magneto would do with the hostages. He already knew he had no concern for human life.

Scott might have wanted to help, but he was still young. Alex wasn't going to let him risk his life when he wasn't ready. As such, Alex's only option was that he was going to have to cowboy it. He wasn't looking forward to it.

He took in his surroundings. There was a chandelier that he could use. It had metal in it, but he figured that if he did it fast enough Magneto wouldn't have time to react. Alex took a minute to see if he had any metal on him.

Alex threw away his watch: he had never really liked it. There weren't any buttons on his outfit, which was good, and he had long ago dispensed with shoes with metal anglets. It looked like he was in a good position.

He saw a fire alarm to his left and grinned. Alex had, after realizing what Toad's powers were, read up on toads. Or, rather, Hank had and Alex had listened to him. It appeared that they had sensitive hearing that connected to their lungs.

Alex ran up and broke the glass on the fire alarm. He set it off and the entire building was filled with ringing. Immediately he saw Toad cover his ears. Alex kicked off on the wall and, using the railing as leverage, got up to the chandelier.

He saw that there were several different metal cords running alongside the roof. Alex focused in on the supports and did a quick judgment of the trajectory of the chandelier. It wouldn't fall on any of the hostages below.

There were running footsteps from the stairs. Someone was coming up to see who had pulled the fire alarm. He'd have to get them on the way down. Alex focused his powers in his hand and wrapped his other hand around one of the supports. He pulled his jacket sleeve up so there would be something between him and the line. When he was sure that he was secure he shot off a blast at the other support.

The chandelier went down and, holding onto one of the cords that was similar to the one that he'd burnt off, he went down too. He'd have to jump to avoid getting hit with shrapnel. Alex saw Avalanche come from the stairs, but he was ready for him. He hit him with a blast that sent him flying backwards through the doorway and down the stairs. He'd aimed for the head, so he figured that he'd be out for a while.

A few seconds before the chandelier hit the ground Alex jumped. He rolled and covered his head as the chandelier shattered on the ground. Alex saw Toad a few feet away from him, clutching his head. He sent a blast his way, sending him spiraling into the wall.

A hand hit his face and sent him stumbling back. Alex blocked Mystique's next punch. He knew she was a better fighter than him, quicker, but he'd learned a few things from their last fight. She tended to move her limbs swiftly, so sometimes it was hard to see that her torso was pretty much staying in the same place.

One of her fists hit him in his mouth, and his teeth cut on his lip. Alex dodged and kicked into her stomach. He made contact and pushed his advantage. He did a low kick and tripped her before letting out a blast.

She rolled to avoid it and came up quickly. He couldn't afford to let her stay on her feet. Alex dodged her next few punches before throwing himself forwards. It was a risky move, but he could tell Mystique hadn't been expecting it. He pushed her to the ground and slammed her face into the floor to disorient her.

Even so she managed to shrug him off. He got to his feet and sent another blast at her. It was as powerful as he could go, and it sent her skidding across the floor and into the wall. He sent another one, just to make sure that she wouldn't get back up.

He heard a scraping noise. The chandelier was moving through the air towards him. Alex dived out of the way just in time. He struggled to get to his feet, his fight with Mystique taking its toll on him.

Magneto was glaring at him from across the room. Alex could see the groups of humans, staring at them with wide eyes.

"So you're taking hostages now Magneto?" Alex asked, "Kind of fits the whole super villain theme you're going with."

"You're being very dramatic," Magneto said.

He moved his hand and the chandelier tipped towards him again. Alex dodged it and sent a blast at Magneto. The chandelier came around again and Alex dived out of its way. It crashed into the wall, a twisted heap of metal.

He had no clue how he was going to fight Magneto: he knew he'd gotten lucky with the others. However, he felt like he was a match physically for Magneto now. Magneto had a lifetime of experience, but Alex was younger and he knew he was faster. He might be able to do something if he got close enough.

His musings were cut short when he saw that the chandelier had moved forward again, this time hovering in front of two men and a woman, perhaps part of an unfortunate tour group. Alex glared at Magneto.

"You wouldn't," he said.

Even before the words left his lips, Alex knew the answer.

"Try me."

He ran across the room as fast as he could. Alex managed to push the small group out of the way just as he felt the metal tear into his torso. He hit the wall hard and felt the blood run down his chest as the world blurred.

The metal pulled away and Alex fell to the floor. He tried to push himself up, but slipped in something and fell. His blood. Of course.

"It doesn't need to happen this way," Magneto said, "I'm going to leave now and you need to get medical-"

Alex snarled and sent a blast towards Magneto. A second later he felt a lump of metal, probably from the damn chandelier again, hit him on his head. His vision blurred even further and black spots swam in front of his face.

"So be it."

A blurry figure stepped in front of him, and he lost consciousness.


	58. Chapter 58

"Get out of the way boy."

Scott stared ahead of him, breathing hard. He finally understood what it meant to be between a rock and a hard place. Magneto stood in front of him, his eyes narrowed and cold. Behind him his brother was unconscious on the floor, bleeding from numerous lacerations.

Despite Alex's command he hadn't been able to wait outside of the museum. He'd demanded at once that Clarice teleport him back into the museum. He was finished with running to the nearest payphone to contact the Institute. He wasn't ten anymore.

While Ororo and Warren had tried to dissuade him, Clarice had merely readied another crystal. Jean had already gone for the payphone. For a moment he'd seen her looking at him, almost as though wondering what it was he was doing. Jean didn't get it.

Clarice had though. He'd seen understanding in her eyes before she'd handed him the crystal, her lips pressed together in a thin line. A flash of magenta light had brought him to the small hallway they'd been in before leaving.

He'd seen his brother come crashing down from the ceiling on the chandelier, heard the fire alarm, seen him engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Mystique. Scott had realized that Alex had, despite appearances, been holding back on him in the Danger Room. He wasn't holding anything back for Mystique. She was a murderer after all.

At first he'd thought that Alex had been right: he could do this on his own. Alex knew exactly what he was doing, just like he always did. Scott couldn't help but feel silly. He had been worried for nothing.

Then he'd seen Magneto move forward, seen his brother give up any chance he had of gaining the upper hand by rescuing the small group. when he'd seen Alex refused Magneto's leniency, heard Magneto's chilling words, Scott had to do something.

He'd run forward and stepped between his brother and Magneto. Magneto had seemed surprised at first, but then he'd just seemed irritated. The fire alarm was pounding away in Scott's ears, almost mocking as it reminded him he didn't have much time.

"I won't repeat myself," Magneto said.

Scott swallowed, trying to calm down his breaths. What was he going to do? He'd revealed his position, not that he could do much from the shadows anyway. The sirens were screeching outside. There was a pounding at the door and Magneto flicked his fingers, sealing them shut even further.

There was no way that he would be able to engage Magneto physically. The distance between them was too great. Magneto would see what he was going to do, and then Scott would end up the same way as his brother.

The weight of his sunglasses suddenly felt crushing. Of course. He had the perfect way to fight Magneto from a distance. Not that his sunglasses were made for easy control of his powers. Those were his goggles, but he'd felt like he could wear his sunglasses on his class trip. His palms became sweaty. He hadn't used his powers in years. He couldn't even use them in the Danger Room.

Alex had started training him to use his powers, true enough, but those lessons had only been attempts to calm him down. They'd been filled with breathing exercises, with gentle words to show him that everything was okay. No one's life had depended on him then.

He tried one of the breathing exercises to slow his heart rate. It didn't work.

"I can see that you think you're being heroic," Magneto said, "But you're not. He's not worth it. Now, get out of the way. You have no idea who I am."

Scott glanced behind him. His brother was bleeding on the floor, his eyes closed. In that moment Scott felt the world slow. He saw the brother who had protected him no matter what the cost, who had promised him that he was never going to be alone, and had carried him out of his worst nightmare.

Alex had never stopped protecting him, trying to do right by him as he always said. He had made sure that his parachute deployed first, had risked the Professor's trust to bring Scott to the Institute, had even asked him if he would feel alright if he married the woman he'd loved for years.

Scott turned back to Magneto.

"Actually, I do know who you are," he said.

Magneto's eyebrows raised.

"Your real name is Erik Lensherr," Scott said, his voice coming out cool and authoritative, "You're a mutant. You're probably stronger than me. You've killed a lot of people. You let Miss Moira die."

Magneto's eyes widened now. Scott felt his hands clench into fists.

"But none of that really matters right now," he said, "Because right now you're just the bastard who's trying to kill my brother."

Before Magneto could respond, Scott's hand flew up to his sunglasses. He tore them off and opened his eyes as wide as he could. He felt himself get pushed back a few paces. Scott dug his heels into the ground as he slid backwards, stopping himself right before he ran into Alex.

The beam clipped Magneto's arm and smashed a whole in the opposite wall. His aim still wasn't the best. He saw the fabric begin to smoke: it was enough of a distraction. Scott jammed the sunglasses back on and grabbed Alex's arm. His brother was heavy, but Scott was strong.

He stumbled towards the hallway, putting Alex as far out of harm's way as he could. He didn't know just what he was going to do next, but there were still hostages. There was more than his brother at stake. He had to remember that.

Scott ran back into the room. He saw that Magneto's sleeve had stopped smoking, and he whipped off his sunglasses again. This time he narrowed his eyes a bit, focusing the beam a little more. It wasn't as intense, but it hit him in the chest and sent him skidding back.

He felt an arm touch his shoulder. Someone was trying to grab his neck, or would try in a minute. Alex had taught him what to do. He whipped around and jammed an elbow in Mystique's throat, throwing all of his weight behind it.

Scott felt something collapse. His victory was short lived when nails scraped across his face and one of Mystique's fists hit him in the jaw. He stumbled and fell to the ground. Mystique stumbled backwards, clutching her throat.

The fire alarm shut off. Scott jerked his head up and saw Toad come flying at him. His feet kicked into Scott's chest. He fell to the ground and Toad jumped for him. Scott took off his sunglasses again and Toad was sent flying into the ceiling.

He managed to put his sunglasses on. Something creaked and Scott saw the chandelier flying for him. He scrambled out of the way, and right into someone's fist. A leg kicked him in the ribs and Scott tried to catch his breath. The kicks rained down on him and he struggled to remember what to do. He needed to get up, but he couldn't even breath anymore.

"Get off him!"

He looked up and saw Warren lunge at his attacker, who turned out to be Avalanche. Warren shoved him to the ground and began raining blows down on him. Scott coughed and painfully pushed himself to his feet. He saw the metal chandelier begin to move again.

"Behind!" he yelled.

Warren looked up. He leapt off Avalanche and ran to Scott's side. Scott took off his sunglasses and blasted the chandelier as far away as possible. His eyelids were starting to hurt when he put his sunglasses back on.

"We need to get these people out of here," he said.

"Already on it," Warren grinned.

There was a flash of magenta light off to his right, and a group of hostages disappeared. He looked up and saw Clarice on the second level, flinging out crystals left and right. She had good aim.

Toad came back through another wall, but a gust of wind knocked him back. Ororo ran up to them, skidding to a halt when she reached them.

"Didn't think we'd let you have all the fun, did you?" she asked.

Scott grinned at her, thinking of another day. It seemed so long ago now.

_"You know, as a teacher-in-training, I shouldn't say this, but you guys are pretty good in a fight together."_

They had his back. Clarice hadn't been among him then, but he knew she had his back too. The humans had been completely cleared from the room and she stood on the rails, breathless. They had all come to his aid and he was stronger with them. Just like Alex was with the rest of the X-men.

He looked at his brother and, to his surprise, saw Jean next to him. She had ripped her sweater and was using it as bandages. He didn't have too much time to look at the two of them, because the metal handles began ripping off the doors.

They began to swirl around them. Scott pressed his back to Warren and Ororo's, watching the different chunks of metal in orbit.

"This is not good," Warren muttered.

Magneto walked forward. Scott saw Clarice getting a crystal ready, but Magneto flicked his fingers. The railing she was on contorted, wrapping itself around her waist and hurtling her from the second floor.

"Clarice!" Ororo screamed.

Clarice stopped before she hit the floor. Jean ran from the hall, her hands stretched in front of her. Clarice landed gently on the floor and Jean moved to her side. Immediately they were surrounded by more door handles. Scott thought he saw screws in the air too.

"Interesting seeing you again," Magneto said.

Jean shrank away. Scott felt his heartbeat increase.

"I was unaware that there was another Summers," Magneto continued, "And the rest of you...well, I see that Charles has rather changed his mind about getting children to fight."

Scott narrowed his eyes.

"We haven't been children since you killed one of our teachers," he snapped, "Maybe even longer."

"Just what I would expect someone from your family to say," Magneto said.

"Well try this one on for size!"

A red bolt ripped through the air. Magneto blocked the brunt of his blast with his arms and Scott saw Alex hobble forwards, his eyes furious and focused on Magneto.

"This is about to go very badly for you," Alex snapped.

Magneto brushed himself off and laughed. The other members of the Brotherhood moved behind him.

"And how do you figure that exactly?" he asked, "Because I see inexperienced children and a wounded leader surrounded by my element."

The metal suddenly stopped orbiting. It wobbled in the air and Magneto frowned.

"It's my element too."

Lorna walked out of one of the halls and stood by Alex, her eyes glowing green. There was a roar and Hank jumped from the second floor to the ground. Scott thought he saw that Hank's ears had been caulked up.

"Guys, cover your ears," he muttered.

They all obeyed. A second later Sean's screech filled the air. Scott could barely make him out on the second floor. A few steps away from them Clarice and Jean were clutching their heads. The metal dropped and Hank grabbed Scott's arm. Scott waved to the rest of them and they began running to where Jean and Clarice were. Lorna had dragged Alex there as well.

"Clarice, teleport us to the roof as soon as Sean gets here," Lorna said.

Clarice formed a large crystal in her hands. Sean jumped from the second floor, using his scream to soften his fall.

"Hold onto me!" Clarice called.

Scott reached out and grabbed her arm. There was a flash of magenta light, and they were on the roof. Scott saw the Blackbird, and he was quickly ushered into it. Jean looked around in confusion, and Scott felt a little sorry for her.

There wasn't much time to feel that though. They had to buckle in for take-off, and Hank was busy tending to his brother's injuries. Lorna gave Alex a dirt look as she made her way to the co-pilot's seat.

"Don't you dare get injured like this again," she hissed.

"I love you too," Alex muttered.

Lorna turned away and Hank continued bandaging Alex's wounds. They didn't seem so bad now that Scott really got a close look at them, but it didn't make him feel too much better. The memory of his unconscious brother on the ground was going to stay with him for a long time.

Alex looked over at him once the Blackbird was in the air.

"Scott...I told you to stay put," he said.

Scott nearly gawked at him. He was going to get in trouble for that? Really? He knew that part of being an X-man was following orders, but he knew his brother didn't always do everything that the Professor told him to do.

Instead of launching into a lecture, his brother smiled softly.

"You did good Scotty boy," he said.

Scott felt warmth blossom inside of him. The nightmare of Alex's near-death was replaced with the joy of his brother's words.

"Thanks," he managed.


	59. Chapter 59

"He's seen you all now," the Professor said, "They all have. I want you all to be fully aware of what this means. You are now on their radar now in a way that you weren't before."

Alex stood next to him. He rolled his shoulder and winced. Some of the shrapnel from the chandelier had pierced him in the shoulder. It hurt like hell, but he needed to let his brother and his friends to know exactly what had happened.

They had assembled downstairs in the hanger now that Alex was well enough to get up. Hank had confined him to his bed for three days, which Alex had thought was highly excessive.  
He was still watching him with suspicion as though he expected Alex to fall down at any moment. Sean was next to him, as was Lorna. They had all assembled, mostly for what was going to come after the Professor's lecture.

The Professor's eyes flicked towards him, and Alex knew that he was going to have to say something.

"The Professor's right. You've exposed yourselves," Alex said.

Scott looked up at him, his eyes a little hurt. Alex thought back on his words and figured that he needed to explain a little bit better. The last thing he waned to do was shatter the confidence that his brother and the rest had been building.

"Exposed yourselves as a bunch of kick-ass teens who know better than to hesitate when it comes to him and his goons," Alex said, "Rather a spectacular start to your career as X-men."

Scott grinned. The rest of them did as well, although he saw Jean's nervousness. He still didn't know why the Professor had told them that she should be included in this. Sure, she'd said that she'd like to join her new friends in their mission. Alex figured she had no clue what it was that she was getting herself into, but the Professor had said that, with proper training, this could help her.

He glanced over at the Professor, who was frowning. Perhaps he'd been a little too enthusiastic.

"You did do well, although the circumstances behind this were less than ideal," the Professor said, "However, I would caution you all against taking to the field officially for another few months."

"Oh come on!" Warren said.

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at his brother. Disappointment was written all over his face. In all honesty, Alex felt the same way as Warren. He'd said as much to the Professor.

"You've changed your tune somewhat," the Professor had told him.

"I was only worried when I thought that Scott wasn't going to be able to…to fight back," Alex had said, "When I talked to him last he was still frightened of his powers. He hadn't used them in years. Now…look at what he did."

The Professor had nodded and, for a minute, Alex had thought he'd convinced him.

"He threw away his fears in order to protect his brother," the Professor had said, "He willingly risked his life for you Alex."

Alex had made a face.

"You're saying he wouldn't do it for other people?" he'd asked, "I know that he'd do it for any of his friends, I know-"

"I'm not doubting Scott's courage," the Professor had replied, "All I'm doubting is his finesse. You saw his willingness to act. We saw that they were all willing. Now, now we just need to teach them control."

Alex had continued to argue. However, the Professor was adamant.

"The original deal was for sixteen, if I recall," the Professor said.  
"Yeah, that was before-" Warren began.  
"Before you charged into battle, yes it was," the Professor said, "As much as I admire the fact that you all took control of the situation, we had specified sixteen for a reason."  
He leaned back.  
"However, I feel that you are all ready for your next stages of training," he said, "It's time you started learning how to use your powers combatively."  
The Professor turned towards Jean.  
"It will be longer before we allow you on the field," he said, "You have less training than the others. I hope you understand."

"I understand," Jean said.

Her voice sounded a little too eager. Alex wondered just how much she wanted to be an X-man, how certain she was about it. He hoped she figured it out before she found herself facing Magneto.

"You'll be with Lorna today," Alex said, "Normally I'd be the one training you, but-"

"But he went out and got the crap beaten out of him by Magneto," Lorna said, "So I'll be in charge today."

She stepped forward and gestured for Jean to follow her. Alex rolled his eyes and looked at the rest of them. Scott's eyes followed Jean for a moment before she walked out of sight with Lorna. Alex raised his eyebrows. He'd have to keep an eye on that.

"Warren, you're getting some aerial lessons with Sean," he said, "Ororo…"

He glanced at the Professor, wondering just how he should word this.

"We want to do some lessons in concentration," Alex said, "Hank should be able to help you with that."

Ororo nodded and got up. He hoped she didn't read between the lines and figure out the real message, i.e. that she needed to calm down. Hank was a master of controlling his temper, although it hadn't come easily. Alex hadn't seen him lose it in years though.

"Scott, Clarice, you're with me," he said, "We're going to be outside today."

"Why?" Scott said, getting up.

"Target practice," Alex said.

He looked over at the Professor.

"I'll be monitoring all of you," the Professor said, "I'll make rounds and see how things are progressing."

"Yeah," Ororo said, "Also, make sure things don't get too boring. I don't want to be the one who gets stuck with mediation exercises or something else boring."

"Don't knock them until you've tried them," Hank said.

Alex shook his head and ushered Clarice and Scott out onto the lawn. They'd set up a skeet shooting machine there earlier. He stood behind it and gestured to them.

"Clarice, you're up first," he said, "I hear you've got a mean aim on you."

Clarice inclined her head, but Scott thought he could see some pleasure at the compliment in her eyes. It was a good start. She needed to learn to be happy more.

"Do you do target practice often?" he asked.

Something hard flashed in Clarice's eyes.

"Often enough," she said.

Alex filed that away for later.

"This is gonna be pretty simple," he said, "This is going to send disks flying out. Try to teleport them. We'll start with one at a time, and then we'll add to that as time goes by."

Clarice looked at the disks and then squared her shoulders. She began forming crystals in her hands.

"Tell me when you're read-" Alex began.

"I'm ready now," Clarice said.

Alex hesitated, but what was the point of holding her back? He pulled back the machine and sent a disk flying into the air. Clarice threw her crystal and it hit it, teleporting it to the ground in a flash of magenta light.

"More," she said.

Alex pulled back again and another disk came out. She threw her crystal at it and it teleported to the ground again.

"More!" she said.

Alex pulled back the machine several times in quick succession, never stopping. He saw surprise on Clarice's face: maybe she thought he wasn't going to take her seriously. Alex knew better though. That was what that hard look had meant.

The air became thick with disks. Sweat was beading on Clarice's face and, for the first time, she looked worried.

"Do you want to sto-?" Alex tried.

"More!"

He narrowed his eyes. He hadn't wanted to teach them this particular lesson on the first day, but it looked like he'd have to. Alex continued shooting out the disks, faster and faster. Clarice looked panicked, but he kept sending the disks out.

"Alex," Scott said.

Alex didn't stop. Clarice fell to her knees and the remaining disks spiraled off into the air. Alex let go of the machine and walked over to Clarice.

"You don't look so good," he said.

"I'm fine," Clarice wheezed.

"Bullshit," Alex said.

He crouched down in front of her.

"You're exhausted," he said, "If the Brotherhood was out there-"

"Then I'd be dead," Clarice snapped, "I get it."

"Stop interrupting," Alex said, "That's really irritating."

She gave him a sullen glare. He moderated his tone somewhat.

"Yes, it's likely that you'd be dead," he said, "But imagine if you and I were fighting. Now imagine that I can't see you: can only hear you. Hank is working on some portable comm systems, or maybe we're being traditional and yelling at each other."

Alex rested his hands on his knees.

"You kept telling me that you were fine," he said, "For all I knew, you were fine. I only knew something was wrong because I could see you. If I couldn't, and I was relying on you for back-up, then I would've kept pushing forwards. When you dropped, I wouldn't have been able to see what happened."

He lowered his voice.

"You wouldn't have just gotten yourself killed," he said, "You could've gotten me killed too."

Clarice looked down, her hair falling in front of her face.

"I'm not asking you to push yourself until you drop," Alex said, "I'm asking you to know your limits and to think before you make a decision for the team."

He got up.

"Take a breather," he said.

He looked at his brother.

"Scott, you're up," he said, "Just as soon as we gather up these disks."

Scott nodded and began picking them up. Alex maneuvered himself so that he was picking up the disks next to his brother, just out of range of Clarice's hearing.

"You understand why I did what I did, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes," Scott said.

His voice faltered slightly.

"Scott, she's your friend," Alex said, "I get that. But I have to be harsh sometimes with the people on my team too, and I'm engaged to one of them."

"I know," Scott said, "It's just…"

He picked up another disk.

"I know you're trying to help," he said, "It's just…it seems cruel sometimes. The Professor doesn't do things that way."

_That's because the Professor has a ton more patience than I do_, Alex thought, _Not to mention he's smarter. _

"You haven't seen cruel if you think that's cruel," he said instead, "I like to think that it's crueler to watch her die because I wasn't tough with her."

He put his hand on Scott's back.

"I'm not asking you to agree with me," he said, "I'm just asking you to think about it."

Scott nodded and placed the disks by the machine. Alex loaded his disks into it.

"Okay," he said, "Tell me when you're ready."

Unlike Clarice, Scott took a few deep breaths first. He had his goggles on, and his hand went to the dial. Alex waited for a few minutes.

"Scott, I know I said when you're ready, but sometime this year might be nice," Alex said.

Scott took another breath.

"I'm ready," he said.

Alex pulled back on the machine and a disk flew out. Scott turned the dial a fraction. The beam went wide and the disk continued its flight.

"I'm putting another one in," Alex said.

Scott nodded, taking one more breath. Maybe those breathing exercises he'd tried with him had been good for something after all.

He still didn't hit anything until the seventh disk. It wobbled in the air upon impact and fell to the ground.

"That's a start," Alex said, "But not a good one. We're going to need to improve accuracy from one out of seven."

His brother nodded. Clarice had gotten onto her feet again, although she still wasn't looking Alex in the eye.

As much as he hated it, just because they had begun training with their powers didn't mean that he was going to be tough with them any less. If anything he was going to have to get tougher as their time on the field approached, even after they began as fully-fledged X-men.

Once again, it was the way it had to be.


	60. Chapter 60

"I think I have bruises on my bruises," Warren mumbled.

"Stop whining," Ororo said.

Scott flipped a page in his book. Every now and then he put a hand up to his goggles. He knew he had to quit it, but they felt different now that he knew that he could use them. They seemed looser.

"I mean, how is this any different from the combat training we've had before?" Ororo asked.

"That was before I could fall from a hundred feet in the air," Warren said.

"You haven't fallen from a hundred feet in the air," Scott said, "You'd be dead if that happened."

"I feel dead," Warren said.

"Stop being so dramatic," Ororo said.

"Easy for you to say," Warren shot back, his expression irritated, "You're just going through meditation exercises with Hank. How hard can that be."

Ororo took in a sharp breath through her nose. Scott knew what was coming.

"Pretty hard when it's the only thing keeping me from hitting you," she said.

Warren smirked. Not for the first time Scott wondered at his need to antagonize Ororo.

"You couldn't hit me if you tried," he said, "I'd see that white hair of yours coming and-"

The door opened and they quieted. They relaxed when they realized that it was Jean and Clarice. Rahne was hot on their heels, clutching a book tight to her chest.

"I don't understand why it's romantic," Rahne said.

"How can you not see that it is?" Jean asked.

She sat down and folded her hands. Rahne sat down on the floor, the book in her lap. Scott couldn't see what the title was from where he sat, but Clarice kept glancing down at it.

"I think maybe we should talk about something else," Clarice said.

"She's just curious," Jean said.

Clarice's eyes met Scott's. He saw worry there. What were they talking about?

"It just doesn't make sense," Rahne said.

"How could it not," Jean said, "He loved her, and he just couldn't live without her."

A sinking feeling began in Scott's stomach. Rahne had moved classes now, and he'd taken that English class as well. He examined the book, recognizing the colors of the cover at last even if he couldn't see the cover.

She was reading _Romeo and Juliet._

"And then she kills herself," Rahne said.

Rahne's mouth was turned upside down and Scott suddenly realized why Clarice was so worried. The topic of separated lovers killing themselves rather than keep living must, in comparison to what had happened with her parents, seem wrong.

Scott didn't have many religious debates with Rahne, but last he checked she believed suicide was sinful. The story was saying, or at least appeared to be saying, that suicide was the only option for these two.

Beyond that, Rahne had seen great love, a love that continued after death. The story was all wrong to her, one that might have sounded like it was saying that, instead of finding the will to continue on, the Professor should have just killed himself and followed Moira.

The venom in Rahne's words made sense. He had never seen Rahne become really angry, but he had the feeling that they were on the verge of it now. The conversation was obviously bringing up unpleasant memories. Why did Jean keep talking?

Because she didn't know. Scott realized with a start that they had never told her. It wasn't something that you casually brought up in conversation. Someone needed to stop her.

"Monstrously unpleasant," Scott said, "Can't we talk about something that isn't Shakesperean?"

"Why would they do that?" Rahne said.

"The couldn't live without each other," Jean said, her voice patient, "The world was nothing to them without the other. They gave up."

Scott could see that Rahne's nails were digging into the cover of the book.

"That's selfish."

"They were in love," Jean said.

"It's selfish," Rahne said, "Selfish and weak. How is their grief any greater than the grief of their parents when they find out that they're gone? The grief of their friends, everyone? How come they couldn't be strong?"

Rhane's voice raised.

"You don't show you love someone by dying when they're gone," Rahne said, "They wouldn't want you to die and give up. They'd want you to be happy. How can this be romantic?"

Scott's breath caught and Jean cocked her head.

"Well when you put it that way..." she said.

She tapped her chin.

"...then they really were very selfish."

Rahne relaxed, and so did Scott.

"I don't think I'm ever going to look at this story the same way again," Jean said.

She smiled.

"You're right Rahne, you can't just leave the earth just because one person has left you," she said, "Then again, Romeo didn't make the best decisions, and your life is most definitely not over at fourteen. Lesson for all of us teenage girls I suppose."

Jean cocked her head.

"I should have more debates with you," she said.

Rahne grinned and clambered to her feet.

"I'm gonna argue that with Mr. Guthrie tomorrow," she said.

"You might want to try putting it in a paper instead," Jean said, "I think that he'd like it better."

"I'll think about it," she said.

She looked at the clock on the wall.

"I'm gonna be late for Monopoly with dad," Rahne said, "I swear he cheats."

She made a face as she got to her feet.

"Or I hate the game," she said, "Something like that."

Jean waved and Rahne skipped off. She turned to the others, who were all staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you just...?" Ororo said.

"I think she did," Warren said.

"She did," Clarice said.

"Did what?" Jean asked.

Clarice shook her head and sat down in one of the seats.

"Whether you know it or not, you got Rahne to talk about death in a manner that did not leave her upset," Clarice said, "I think the Professor might be able to do that."

"We were talking about a story," Jean said.

Scott put his book away.

"Jean, Rahne is very, very sensitive about these sorts of things," Scott said.

"I know," Jean said.

"You know?" Ororo blurted.

Jean bit her lip and drew back, uncertain.

"I saw she was uncomfortable with something in the story," Jean said, "But she wouldn't tell me why, and I could see that it was making her upset. I just thought that she, for whatever reason, had something to say and needed to say it."

She clasped her hands in her lap.

"It's better than just having her keep it in," Jean said, "I thought she should get it out. She has a very sharp mind though. I had no idea that her explanation would be quite so prosaic, or that she would be so adamant."

"There are some things you don't know," Clarice said, "And while I think you did a good job with talking to her, you might want to be a bit more careful in the future."

Jean cocked her head and Clarice leaned forwards.

"You know the Professor's her father," she said, "But you don't know about her mother. She was the Professor's fiancée and a good woman. The Brotherhood murdered her about three years ago."

Jean's eyes widened.

"I had no idea..." she said.

"The Professor was in a bad place for a while," Clarice said.

"We don't talk about it," Scott said, trying to keep his voice firm, "Rahne was in a pretty bad way when it had just happened too. The Professor got her through it, but she still feels very strongly about her mother. And that's one of the reasons we don't talk about it with her."

Jean chewed her tongue.

"Does she not want to talk about it?" she asked.

Warren frowned.

"Of course she doesn't want to talk about it," he said, "Who would want to talk about it?"

"Maybe she does," Jean said, "Three years of silence can be a long time."

Scott saw Jean's eyes dart around again. She was coming dangerously close to revealing something about herself. She always got nervous when she did that. Maybe she wanted to tell them something, but she couldn't.

He cleared his throat.

"Rahne's usually outspoken," he said, "I'm not sure what it is that she needs in this case, or if she needs anyone to talk to anymore. I think that she has the Professor now for this though."

"Maybe she wants a friend," Jean said.

Clarice looked pensive for a moment. Then she shrugged, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself. Again.

"She's right though," Clarice said at last, "_Romeo and Juliet_ sucks."

She cracked her head.

"You can't go and kill yourself just because you've lost someone," she said.

"But letting yourself die to protect someone else is noble?" Warren said, "I think there are a couple double standards here."

"There aren't any double standards," Jean said, her voice quiet, "They're two completely different things. Killing yourself because you've lost someone is weak: there's more to life than just that person."

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"Sacrificing yourself to protect another life is noble because it's putting someone before you," Jean said, "It's not saying that the world is meaningless without them, just that in a battle balancing yourself against them, they tipped the scale."

Scott laced his fingers together as he listened, feeling entranced.

"So you're saying that you should hold your own life as being worthless?" Ororo asked, skeptical.

"Not at all," Jean laughed, "You have to know when a sacrifice helps, I think. It may sound cold, but you can't just throw your own life away over nothing. You need to know whether or not sacrificing yourself is worth it."

She lowered her eyes.

"For instance, I'm not very strong right now," she said, "Sacrificing myself for the sake of the team might help."

There was a brief silence. he had no clue what the rest of them were thinking, but he could only feel admiration. For the first time in a long time Scott could hear his own thoughts echoed back to him, ones about sacrifice and duty, ones that Alex had never really needed to teach him about in words, just actions.

Alex would always come back injured even if the rest of the team didn't have a scratch on them. It was obvious that he was using himself as a shield because he could take it. Scott wanted to be like that, wanted to be someone who could take the pressure for others.

"That's pretty dark," Ororo said.

"I'm not saying that I'm planning on it," Jean said, "I'm just saying that that makes sense. Or if you're protecting someone you care very much about."

"I get that, but I still think that you're undervaluing your own life," Warren said.

"Not at all," Jean said, "I want to live. I just think that we may need to start thinking about these sorts of things before we encounter them on the battlefield."

"You're taking this seriously," Ororo said.

Jean frowned.

"Aren't you?" she asked.

Scott felt his heart hammering away in his chest. She understood. Jean was beautiful, intelligent, kind, and she understood. There was a strange, sharp but sweet pain forming in his chest unlike anything he'd felt before.

He knew that he was very young, and he might not fully understand the word yet, but he wondered if this was what love was like.


	61. Chapter 61

"I hate how many dances the school has," Ororo muttered.

"We only have about three every year," Scott said, "And this is only the second one we've been allowed to go to."

Ororo rolled her eyes and took a sip of water. Scott had just turned sixteen, and he was expecting to be assigned on his first mission any day now. As so their training had fallen into a rhythm.

They started right after class and ran a lap around the Institute, more if they were late. They did some sparring, and then broke out into groups to work with their own personal trainers. Then they'd join together for some more sparring. When Alex felt that they'd done well, he'd dismiss them.

Currently his brother stood at the other end of the room, wiping his neck with a towel. His brother's shirt was sleeveless, and his muscles had obviously grown since he was a teenager. Scott remembered how he'd been much less intimidating when they were younger. He figured it would only be a few years before he ended up looking like that too.

Scott glanced back at his friends. This was one of the only sessions they were at that Jean didn't go to. She was outside at the moment, running laps with Lorna. Alex would come in and train her every now and then, but he told Scott that he had the feeling Lorna was using her own methods to build up Jean's athleticism.

Alex told him that he'd start training her in full force in a month or two. He'd been worried when he heard about that. Jean was still very slender and he was unsure just how strong she was. He knew that it was silly, Lorna still looked slender and he knew she could beat seven types of snot out of the Brotherhood. Jean wanted to be an X-man, and he had no doubt that she had the inner strength to become just as strong as any of them were.

Scott still felt a little worried. He'd confessed that worry to Alex, who'd given him a side look.

"Scott, something you wanna tell me about Jean?" he'd asked.

Scott had flushed and looked away.

"Um, not really," Scott had said.

Alex had just shrugged, but he had the feeling that his brother would come back to it later.

"You just don't like it because you're not going with anyone," Warren said, snapping him back to the present.

"I'm going with a friend," Ororo said.

Clarice sat down beside her.

"We're not interested in any of the boys here," Clarice said, "So we're dressing up and hanging out around the refreshment table."

"Just putting in an appearance," Ororo said.

"That sounds super boring," Warren said, "Why don't you just not go?"

"Rahne wants me to tell her how it is," Clarice shrugged, "It's no different than most nights that I'd spend hanging out with you: just in prettier dresses. Same thing for you boys."

"I am not wearing a dress," Warren said.

"You should. Then we girls can amuse ourselves with you chuckleheads," Ororo said.

Scott didn't respond to that. He had his own ideas about the dance, and it didn't include hanging out with his friends. It had been a decision that he'd made over the course of several nerve-wrenching weeks. Scott couldn't believe how scared he was of this when he was training to fight killers and criminals.

He was going to ask Jean out to the dance. If he'd thought making the decision was difficult though, it was nothing compared to actually asking her out. She was beautiful and smart, and Scott knew that he wouldn't be the only one who noticed that. She was shy, but it would be impossible for her to be unaware that she could do better than him.

He cleared his throat, getting ready to get back into the conversation. He knew that an idea would come to him.

"Push you into the punch bowel, that sort of thing," Ororo said.

"Aren't you supposed to be calming down?" Scott laughed.

"It's not a perfect science," Ororo said.

"You still sound like you're going to be bored out of your minds," Warren said.

Ororo picked up her sweat towel and threw it over her shoulder. She punched Warren in the shoulder.

"Not like you're going to be doing anything more interesting," she said, "You can hang out and be bored right along with us."

Warren grinned.

"As it is, I have other plans," he said.

Ororo raised her eyebrows. Scott got up and began packing up some of his gym clothes in his bag. Warren didn't say anything, and Scott could imagine him just standing there, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Well come on now," Scott said, not turning around, "You can't say that and then not tell us."

"Fine Mr. Nosy," Warren laughed, "As it is, I asked Jean to go with me."

Scott stopped packing up. He felt his breath catch in his let out a low whistle.

"And what did she say?" she asked.

"Oh, she didn't answer," Warren said, "She said she would tell me later, but I figure that's just a girl thing."

Scott closed his eyes and took another breath.

"Yes, because if a girl really wants to go out with you, she'll leave you hanging," Ororo snorted.

"Don't be so dismissive."

"Don't be so confident," Ororo shot back.

"Wallflower."

"Horndog."

"Children," Clarice murmured.

Scott finished packing up his gym bag and walked out of the hall. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Of course this had happened. He'd been too nervous to ask, and now he'd lost his chance.

More than that, he'd lost it to Warren. His friend for years. The friend who had had his back for years, who he'd pitied for his horrible home life, had opened up his room to share because he was comfortable enough around him.

For the first time in his life, he felt jealous of Warren. Scott realized that Warren was engaging and talkative. Scott had always thought of himself as dependable, but beyond that he couldn't think of himself as anything else. Warren was always quick with a joke, and Scott was suddenly aware that Warren was better looking than him as well.

"Scott!"

He looked over his shoulder. Alex was standing there, his hands in his pockets.

"Need to talk now?" he asked.

Scott bit his lip and nodded. Alex walked up and put his hand on his shoulder, steering him down the hall.

"I don't think that I need to ask what that was about," Alex said as they walked into the medical bay.

"Yeah," Scott said.

"I didn't know Warren felt that way," Alex said.

Scott laughed bitterly.

"Me neither," he said.

Alex titled his head.

"I can't say that I've been through this before," he said, "It wasn't like this happened with me and Lorna."

"That looked pretty easy," Scott said.

"You've never seen when she's been in a temper," Alex said, "But yeah. I'm sorry Scotty boy."

His brother sighed.

"Hey, it might not happen," he said.

"But now I know that my best friend's interested in her," Scott said glumly.

His brother rolled his eyes.

"Look, don't try to be all noble by ruling her out just because Warren likes her too," he said, "Hell, Lorna would beat the shit out of me if I tried something like that. She'd be right to too."

"It's the honorable thing to do," Scott said, feeling defensive.

"Who talks like that anymore?" Alex said, "Don't be a moron about this, alright?"

Scott managed a smile.

"Okay," he said.

His brother nodded.

"There's not much more you can say to that, not really anything else for me to do," Alex said, "Except ask if you want a pizza that is."

Scott laughed again, this time a bit more genuinely.

"Thanks," he said, "This kind of sucks."

Alex snorted.

"She hasn't said yes you know," he said.

"But she will."

"But she hasn't said yes yet," Alex emphasized.

* * *

"And that's your fifth lap," Lorna said, "Good work. Take it in."

Jean collapsed on the ground. She pulled her braid away from her face and flopped back on the grass. She'd never been as tired as she'd been over the past few months. Lorna sat down next to her.

"It hits you kind of hard at first," Lorna said, "I'd been doing some running and fighting right before I came here: only way I survived when I finally got admitted."

"How do you keep this up?" Jean panted.

"It gets easier," Lorna said, "Trust me on this one."

Jean nodded. She pushed herself up and Jean handed her a bottle of water that she'd put there earlier. Jean drank greedily.

"It's all uphill from here," Lorna assured her.

Something clenched inside of Jean's chest. She put the water bottle down and folded her hands in her lap.

"What's wrong?" Lorna asked.

Jean ducked her head.

"Nothing."

"I'm not an idiot," Lorna said, "Come on, what's wrong?"

Jean chewed on her tongue. She didn't want to sound like a complainer. She had the feeling that the others saw her as weak, and she didn't want to enforce that image. Jean had also learned that, in her household, sometimes it was better not to say anything.

Still, she was getting tired of that kind of silence that her father had imposed on her for her protection.

"Warren asked me to the dance," she said.

"Oh, great," Lorna said.

Jean shook her head.

"I don't like him that way," she said.

"Oh. Not so great," Lorna said, "What did you tell him?"

Jean began undoing her braid.

"I said I'd tell him later," she said.

"Hm," Lorna said.

She pulled the sweaty sections of her hair apart. Jean really needed to think about cutting it.

"I just...I don't...maybe I should just say yes," Jean said, "I don't want to offend him, and I don't want to ruin our friendship."

Lorna looked uncomfortable.

"Jean, maybe I'm not the best person to ask about this," she said, "Things kind of worked out for me perfectly. But it seems to me that, if you don't like someone, it's just a bigger discourtesy to let them think you do."

Jean bowed her head.

"Maybe," she said, "It's just...there is someone else I like..."

"Who?" Lorna asked.

Jean hesitated again. The woman next to her was going to be Scott's sister in a year. She'd just set the date with Alex. It was going to be strange for Jean to discuss her feelings for Lorna's future brother. It would definitely change the conversation.

"I'd rather not say," Jean said.

"Fine. I won't twist your arm about it," Lorna said, "And he hasn't asked you?"

"No," Jean said, "I don't think..."

She sighed.

"I don't think he likes me back to be honest," she said, "He's always been kind to me, but he's kind to everyone and..."

Jean blushed. She couldn't believe that this was happening, that she was talking about it.

"I just don't think he likes me back," Jean finished.

Lorna pursed her lips.

"I didn't know for sure that Alex liked me until he took my hand and kissed it," she said, "Sometimes all guys need is encouragement."

"What did you do to encourage that?" Jean asked.

Lorna laughed.

"I told him he was great for standing by the people he cared about and touched his face," she said, "It was an interesting conversation."

"Oh," Jean said.

She bit her lip again.

"But Warren...he asked..." she murmured.

"Hey, it's not like you said yes yet," Lorna said.


	62. Chapter 62

Jean folded her hands behind her back and mustered up her courage. This was going to be difficult, but she needed to do it. Lorna had been right. She needed to get it out of the way before it did any damage.

Warren was sitting at the other side of the library, examining a chess set. She knew that she would find him there. The only question was whether or not she would find any of their friends. There didn't seem to be anyone else around, and she figured that he was playing against himself.

It puzzled her when people did that. Sometimes she saw the Professor staring at a chess board in his office, but he never seemed to move a piece. She wondered what was going through his head. Maybe it wasn't anything. Maybe he was just practicing for a game with Rahne. Maybe.

Jean swallowed and stepped up to Warren. He looked up and smiled, his feathery wings rustling.

"Hi Jean," he said, "Just practicing for my next game with Scott. He doesn't look it, but he's actually a pretty good chess player."

He moved one of the pieces.

"I'd like to take credit for it," he said, "I think that I provide something of an intimidating opponent, but I think he's just a tactician when it comes down to it."

She managed a nervous smile. Jean didn't want to do this, but the mention of Scott's name reminded her why she was doing this. She didn't like Warren like that. She liked Scott. Jean was going to be honest, and hopefully that would be enough to keep her friendship with Warren.

There was far too much uncertainty about the situation.

"We um...we need to talk actually," she said.

Warren's face brightened. She felt like a monster.

"Okay," he said, "Do you want to go somewhere else or-?"

"Here is fine," she said.

She took a deep breath.

"Warren, it was really nice of you to ask me out," she said, "But I...I..."

His face began to fall. She began to stumble even more over her words, but she forced herself to make some sort of order with them. It was time to get it over with.

"I'm sorry," she said, "But you're just a friend."

He looked away.

"A good friend," Jean said, trying to recover as much as she could, "And I still want you to be my friend."

Warren made a non-committal noise from the back of his throat.

"I do though," Jean said, wondering if he didn't believe her, "Of course I do. You've all been so good to me since I first came here, and I care about you all so much-"

"Then why not give it a try?" Warren said, turning around again.

Her voice caught and she found it impossible to respond. There wasn't any hope, and she couldn't give him any when she didn't feel anything other than friendship for him. He needed to know that.

"Warren-"

"I mean, one date wouldn't be so horrible, right?" Warren asked.

She swallowed. This wasn't going how she wanted it to.

"If you didn't have fun on it, then that would be one thing, and we could call it off. But why not try it once? I..." Warren said.

He trailed off. Jean wondered if he saw the dismay in her face, if that was the reason why he stopped speaking.

"You like someone else, don't you?" he asked.

There was no point in denying it. She nodded. Warren looked away again for a minute. When he looked back his face was controlled.

"Who?" he asked.

She bit her lip. She didn't want to tell him. Scott and Warren were such good friends. They'd been friends before they'd even known that such a person as Jean Grey even existed. It would hurt for Warren to know that she had chosen Scott over him.

For the first time she began to wonder if her decision would hurt more than her friendship with Warren. She wondered if it would hurt Warren's friendship with Scott too. Maybe Scott wouldn't even want to go near her if he knew she'd turned down his friend.

"On second thought, don't answer that," Warren said, getting up, "I'm not sure I want to know. I guess I'll find out soon enough though."

He looked over at the board and moved one of his pieces. Warren picked up the king and looked at it.

"Checkmate, I guess," he said.

"Warren-" she tried.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do," Warren said, "I really do. And I understand. But...I can't do this right now, okay? One thing at a time."

He pocketed the king and began to walk out of the library. He paused in the doorway.

"Don't feel too bad," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "It was just a school dance."

He walked out of the library. Jean could feel the tears welling in her eyes. She put her hands in front of her face and sat down on the chair. She'd failed, made a mess of things. Jean thought of all those years, the shutters drawn in her room and her nose in a book, trying to shut out the world. Maybe it had been better that way.

She felt useless. Was it really this difficult to interact with people she cared about? Warren was a friend, someone who had extended friendship when she'd just been a peculiar girl with red hair. He should have been easy to talk to, to tell what she was feeling.

The tears spilled over. She folded her arms and buried her head on the table. How could she be so dumb to have let things get this far? It was obvious that she had hurt Warren. How could she have not noticed his feelings sooner, done something to help him, to show him that she cared for him, just not in that way? Why couldn't she just be smart about something other than work?

The door opened.

"Jean? What's going on? I just saw Warren-"

Ororo. Her friend's voice cut off. Jean wondered if she'd hate her too now. The footsteps hurried up, followed by a second pair. Ororo put a hand on her shoulder.

"Jean, what happened?" she asked.

Jean's shoulder shook.

"I said no," she said.

Ororo's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Why?"

Jean felt miserable. She could hear the irritation in Ororo's tone. She would hate her.

"Ororo, I don't think you're helping."

Clarice. She wanted to look up, but she couldn't find it in her.

"I just want to know what happened," Ororo said, the irritation bleeding through more prominently, "I just want to know-"

"You are not helping," Clarice hissed.

She felt Ororo's hand jerk off her shoulder. Jean wondered if Clarice had pulled her away. Clarice was whispering, but Jean could hear better than Clarice thought.

"It's not her fault if she didn't want to go with him," Clarice said, "I get that he's your friend, and that he's been your friend for a while, but she's our friend too, okay? They're both hurt. Think about that for a minute."

Ororo sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," she said.

Jean felt a hand on her shoulder again. She refused to look up.

"It's okay," Ororo said.

"I don't feel like talking about it," Jean said.

"But it really is okay," Ororo said, "I don't know why you didn't say yes, I mean, I thought you two got along great but-"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it!"

Something smashed into the room. Had she moved a book? She hadn't had to concentrate to do it. Ororo's hand left her shoulder again.

"Okay, okay," she said, "I'm gonna go see if um, if Warren needs someone to talk to."

Ororo's feet made soft noises on the carpet.

"Clarice, we should get the Professor."

"No," Clarice said, "Not for this. Go to Warren. I'll stay here."

"I don't think she wants company."

"Just give me five minutes."

Jean listened to Ororo leave the room. The other chair scraped on the floor.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Jean said.

"You don't have to talk about it," Clarice said, "Heaven knows I'm not good about talking about things. There are things in this world that no one knows about me because I won't talk about them. I'm the last one who will try to pry you to open up."

She tapped the table.

"But," Clarice said, "And this is a big 'but,' I think that you're the kind of person who will want to talk about this eventually. And that's what friends are for. Someone told me that a few years ago. I was grateful to them."

Clarice cleared her throat.

"And I know that, whatever happened, you're probably feeling like you might be useless," she said, "Or like you're not good enough, or that you're a bad person. Maybe you think you're a coward."

Jean closed her eyes even harder. It was exactly what she thought.

"I will admit that your comment about my appearance, or the unusual appearance of some people, did not endear me to you," Clarice said, her voice frank, "But I have considered you a friend for a long time now."

She sighed.

"I am stiff and uncomfortable to be around. I know this," Clarice said, "I very rarely say anything that could be counted as emotional. I admit that I find it difficult to do so. If I ever say something that seems like it belongs, I spend time trying to figure out why that was. There was...never mind. But there are some things that I think are important, such as regaining that emotion. As such, I think that it may be my responsibility to sit here for a little while longer."

"I said I didn't want to-"

"I do not require that you say anything," Clarice said, "You can tune me out if you want to."

Jean fell silent. She wondered if she should start levitating books around again.

"I think that Warren requires Ororo's presence. They have been friends for a very long time. But you need someone to fill the silence, and I am the only one available unless you want me to fetch someone," Clarice said, "I know you might be feeling like you have done something wrong and, I repeat, I think that you might be viewing yourself as useless."

She sighed again.

"But what you did for Rahne the other day, it was something that the rest of us hadn't even considered," Clarice said, "Maybe the Professor talked to her about it, maybe he didn't. You didn't know that her mother had been murdered, but you knew she had a problem. You weren't afraid to talk to her about it. Knowingly or not, you treated her like an adult when the rest of us treated her like a child. I don't even...I don't even do that, and she's my best friend."

The chair scraped backwards.

"Talk, cry, or just hide your head," Clarice said, "It is your choice. But if you want to do either of the first two, I'll be here for that. If not, then I can just leave right now."

Biting her lip Jean looked up. Clarice was standing next to her. Her face wasn't blank like it usually was. It was kind and sympathetic. She hiccupped and Clarice tentatively reached out and hugged her. It was stiff and awkward, but it was a hug.

Jean began crying again.

"I didn't want this," she said.

"Don't worry Jean," Clarice said, "It's going to pass. I know it will."


	63. Chapter 63

Alex sat down on one of the work benches. In a few minutes he was going to go in and talk to his brother's friends. They would be taking codenames that day, and Hank would be revealing their uniforms. They had been training to be X-men. Now they were going to look like them too. He wasn't looking forward to it.

The past week had not been a good one. As far as he'd understood it, Jean had turned Warren down. In some ways Alex was glad, or at least glad for his brother. Jean didn't like Warren enough to go to the dance with him. Maybe that meant that Scott had a chance after all. He'd been right: she hadn't said yes yet.

On the other hand, Warren had become sullen and he knew that he was upset. Alex had actually had to take a step back and assess the situation. He didn't like that: he was trying to assess the emotions of a bunch of teenagers. In all reality that was his job, the Professor's job, and Lorna's job too now. He didn't mind it, but most of the teenagers he'd dealt with were about to go into combat.

As far as Alex knew, and from what his brother told him, this was the first time that Warren had asked a girl out. That meant that this was also the first time that someone said no. That was probably the simplest part of the equation. Warren was Scott's closest male friend. They were roommates. They were good friends, and they both liked the same girl. Warren just didn't know it yet.

At first he'd thought that he would be able to be his brother's confidant as the situation unfolded. He hadn't even thought about the effect that it might have on the X-men. He still couldn't even believe that this was a consideration.

However, he wasn't blind. Ororo, though she tried to keep it hidden, had sided with Warren. Alex hadn't thought that there would be sides, but apparently there were. She was kind enough to Jean, but Alex knew that she still didn't understand why Jean had said no. Warren was her best friend and he'd been hurt. Alex knew she got on better with him than Scott did. Of course she would stand by Warren no matter what.

Clarice had remained silent on the matter. It wasn't as though they were just going to go around blabbing their feelings about what had happened though. It wasn't that kind of thing. However, Alex had noticed that Clarice sat by Jean during the group training sessions. Jean talked to Clarice more, and Clarice would incline her head to listen more often. He saw Jean with Clarice and Rahne sometimes between classes.

It was good in its own way, since he didn't see her with Ororo so much. He figured Warren wanted to avoid Jean, and if Ororo was following Warren, then they would be avoiding Jean together. Once again, sides.

Then there was Scott, the only one who was willing to talk about what had happened. He felt awkward. There was no other way to put it, and Alex felt for his brother. He was happy that Jean had turned Warren down. He was upset that Warren was upset. Scott felt like he should be giving his friend solidarity, that he should still be around all of his friends and the girl he liked, but he didn't like the way that tentative lines were beginning to be drawn.

It was because of Scott that Alex knew that things were sliding downhill. Before he'd thought that he was exaggerating it all. It wasn't that big of a deal. Surely, with the bond that they had formed, and the situations that they were going to go into, they wouldn't be drifting into two different parties.

Then Scott had talked to him about it, telling him the situation as he'd seen it. He'd worried that he was exaggerating things too, and he'd turned to Alex to reassure him that he was wrong. He wasn't wrong though, and it had made Alex furious.

He'd stared at the wall hard for a moment before he began speaking.

"I thought I was imagining it," Alex had said, "Of all the petty, immature..."

He gave Scott a hard look. The realization that this had gone far enough hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Don't worry about this Scott," he'd said.

Now it was time to make good on that. Alex had had a few quiet words with the Professor. His usual methods of telling people how stupid they were obviously weren't going to work. The Professor was smarter than he was, and had even offered to handle the situation. However, Alex was supposed to be the buffer. The Professor should only have to handle the situation if things got really serious. They weren't there yet. They'd talked it out, and Alex had come up with a solid idea.

He stepped into the main room, and his heart had automatically sunk. Ororo was sitting at least two seats away from Clarice and Jean. Warren was on Ororo's other side, and the two groups weren't looking at each other. Scott was sitting in between the two of them, looking miserable.

Alex rested his eyes on his brother for a moment, and Scott looked up. He couldn't read the emotions in his brother's eyes. Then he glanced at the group and his face hardened. It was time to end this.

He stepped in front of the seated group just as Lorna, Sean, and Hank walked into the room. Alex folded his arms in front of him.

"Now, everyone except Jean is going to be going on their first mission next week," he said, "You're getting your uniforms and taking your codenames tonight. As such, I think that there are a few things that we need to say right now."

Alex put his arm over Sean's shoulder. He really hoped this worked.

"I've known Sean and Hank here since I was fifteen years old," Alex said, "And I was an asshole back then, so I know they've been great friends because they still hang around me."

There were a few chuckles.

"You think I'm joking," Alex said.

"He's telling the truth. He was an asshole," Sean said.

"I would say more of a bully," Hank said.

"Okay, enough," Alex said.

"And he was ugly," Sean said, "So ugly."

"Hideous," Hank added.

"They get the picture," Alex said.

He shook his head.

"See what I mean about friends?" Alex said, "But they never gave up on me. And I'm honored that they've stayed with me."

"Through the ugliness and assholeness," Sean said.

"I said that was enough," Alex said.

There was more laughter. It was louder this time, and more genuine. Good.

"Okay, okay," Alex said, "But, what I'm trying to get at is that, no matter what's been going on, they've had my back."

He took his arm off of Sean's shoulder.

"And then we have Lorna," he said.

Lorna raised her eyebrows. He blinked his eyes, willing her to understand what he was trying to do. She tilted her chin up in a challenge.

"As you know, I'm going to be marrying her this summer," he said.

There were a few nods. He reached out for Lorna's hand and she let him take it. Good. She'd gotten that he was trying to prove a point.

"It's not easy having to work with the woman you love sometimes," he said, "For several reasons. I worry about her."

"Because he's an idiot," Lorna said, "He knows I can beat him up."

"I didn't say it was logical," Alex said, "But it happens."

He looked back at the rest of the group.

"The thing is, outside this room, outside of our uniforms, outside of Havok, Polaris, Beast, and Banshee, we're people," Alex said, "We get into fights. We're assholes and idiots sometimes. But we have to keep that separate from who we are on the battlefield."

He let go of her hand.

"It's one of the reasons your codenames are so important," Alex said, "They're not just to protect your identity from outside sources. If that was all, then Sean, Hank, and I might as well not have bothered. Magneto already knows who we are."

He gestured vaguely.

"But you have to get into that mindset when you're on the field," he said, "You trust your friends, but when you go onto the field, when Alex becomes Havok, then you have absolute faith in your teammates. Remember that."

Alex clapped his hands. He could already see that Warren was glancing at Jean. He hoped that he was taking his words to heart.

"Now go get changed and tell me who you are," Alex said.

* * *

Scott tugged on his uniform and looked into the mirror in the locker room. He didn't see himself staring back: there was someone different there. He had his goggles on, covering his eyes completely and melding them into one giant portal of sight. Hank had redesigned them, keeping in mind that they were going to be used for combat now. They only seemed to further enforce that he looked different now, that he was a different person.

For a moment he'd been able to forget everything that had happened with Jean and Warren and his own worries. Alex was right: they had to leave that sort of thing behind. He wasn't just a teenager caught in petty drama. He was an X-man too.

Scott looked at the yellow and black uniform. Hank had redone the uniforms. It looked different, perhaps a touch more stealthy. He turned his shoulder. The red 'X' there had reflected back at him. His breath caught. Scott had wanted to be an X-man since he was thirteen. Now it was finally going to happen.

He touched his face with his gloved hand. He could feel it. It was him. He was there. This was going to happen. He was going to go out and fight for the people he cared about, he was going to help mutants around the world.

Somehow he felt as though the moment was weighing down on him. Scott knew that it was all significant, that what he was doing was important. However, he could feel a thousand little moments behind him that had pushed him to this. He knew there were a thousand little dangerous moments in front of him, tugging him forwards.

Staring at himself in the mirror, he felt as though he could do it. He could be an X-man. He could fight alongside his brother. His hand touched the dial on the goggles. Scott wasn't going to be afraid anymore.

Feeling stronger, he walked back into the main hall. Everyone else had changed. Most of their uniforms were the same as his, although there were a few minor adjustments. He saw that Clarice's had come with a quiver for her crystals. Storm had asked for a cape, but Hank had said that he wanted her to get used to fighting without one first before he gave her one. There were slits in Warren's for his wings.

Jean had pulled her hair back, but she hadn't braided it like Ororo. It flowed over her shoulders, standing out against the black and highlighting the red 'X.' She looked beautiful. Not that she'd want his attention at the moment after everything that had happened, but still.

His brother turned to him and gave him a long look. He smiled at him once before gesturing to the group.

"So, everyone's here," he said.

"The uniforms fit?" Hank asked.

There were a chorus of nods.

"Now for the important question," Alex said, "I asked you all to come up with a codename. What are you going to call yourselves? You first Warren."

Warren straightened.

"Archangel," Warren said.

"Might get confused with Angel some of the time," Alex said.

Warren glanced back on his wings.

"I think I have a right to the name too," he said.

"Good point," Alex said.

He pointed at Ororo.

"Storm," she said.

"Short and precise," Alex said, "Clarice?"

"Blink," Clarice said.

"Also, perfect," Alex sad.

He gestured to Jean.

"Marvel Girl?" Jean asked, her voice tentative.

Alex tilted his head.

"That's kind of a mouthful," he said, "Mind if you get called Marvel sometimes? Maybe, most of the time? If I'm in a fight it might come out more like Mawwah though."

Jean laughed.

"That's what I like to hear," Alex said, "Scott?"

Scott touched his goggles again. He'd been thinking about this for a while.

"Cyclops," he said.

Alex grinned at him.

"Cyclops," he said, "Good."

He held his arms out wide.

"Welcome to the X-men."


	64. Chapter 64

"Cyclops, down!"

Scott rolled as gunfire ripped over his head. He gave a quick wave to Clarice, who nodded before tossing a crystal at an approaching guard. To his left he saw Toad and Sean locked in combat, Sean's screams filling the air. Lorna and Ororo were dealing with several of the guards, and he knew that Warren was giving air reconnaissance.

He scrabbled to his feet just as someone his brother said was called Boom-Boom raced past. She was, as he understood, fairly new to the Brotherhood. Scott figured she hadn't taken the whole codename thing seriously. No matter. He couldn't let her reach the end of the hallway. Alex was down there, trying to figure out how to break down the computer with Hank.

Scott stood his ground and turned the dial backwards. Boom-Boom was hit with a full blast and was sent rocketing across the room into a wall. He didn't have much time to savor his victory though. There would be others, both Brotherhood and security guards.

His brother had prepared him that the battlefield would be chaotic. He'd warned him that there would be people there with guns, mixed in with the Brotherhood. Both groups would be trying to kill him, and communication breakdowns weren't uncommon.

He'd tried to take those lessons in, tried to calm his screaming nerves before he prepared to go on his first mission. He'd thought that he'd done everything humanly possible to get ready to fight killers and become a full part of the X-men.

If he had done everything humanly possible, then it still hadn't been enough. The confusion around him was frightening, and he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. How had Alex willingly charged into this when he was fifteen? He hadn't had soldiers preparing him for that fight. The Professor had been an academic, and as far as Scott could tell, Magneto had been something of an unpaid assassin. How had either of them prepared Alex and his friends for this?

Boom-Boom got to her feet and sent several glowing disks his way. Kinetic energy. He ran from them, sliding onto the ground and sending another beam at her as they shattered the wall behind him. She smashed into the opposite wall again.

"Stay down!" Scott yelled.

He got to his feet again, in time to see Clarice draw level with Storm and Lorna. There were more guards, and Scott could see that Clarice was running out of crystals. He ran up to her and saw the sweat on her brow. It was impossible not to think about their first training session.

"Blink," he said, "If you need a breather, I can take over."

She gave him a hostile look for a moment before touching the lip of her quiver. Scott wondered if she'd lost track of just how many crystals she'd lost. She was their way out of the compound, just like she was their way in. They couldn't have her getting exhausted, and her expression told him that she knew that.

"I'll be back in a moment," she said.

Scott nodded and took her place. She leaned up against a nearby wall, forming more crystals with her hands. Lorna nodded to him and flexed her fingers. The guns the guards were carrying pushed them back, knocking several over in a domino-like effect.

"Think you can make sure they go back a little further Cyclops?" she asked.

"On it," Scott said.

He turned the dial past and let them crash into the wall. One in the back was trying to get up, and Scott sent another quick blast his way.

"Nice form," Lorna said.

He began to smile, but he shut it down quickly. This wasn't another practice session. This was a battle, and feeling proud about 'nice form' was probably redundant. Lorna quirked her eyebrow at his expression, but pulled him down as Toad went sailing over their head.

Sean launched himself there and screamed directly above him. Toad went limp.

"And he's down," Sean said, "I think there should be a pun I should make right now, but I can't quite get it."

"I'm sure you'll think of something pithy later," Lorna said.

"Hope so," Sean said.

She looked over her shoulder.

"What the hell is taking Havok and Beast so long?" she said.

Lorna shook her head.

"I'm going to go check," she said.

She began to move towards the hallway, but Sean grabbed her arm.

"Hey, we need you here," he said.

Lorna narrowed her eyes and then looked around the room. Scott tried to see the terrain from her eyes. It was a heavily metal-based environment. The soldiers were all armed with metal guns. If she stayed where she was and continued to give reconnaissance, then it would make things a whole lot easier.

If she went after her fiancé, then she would leave them vulnerable. Lorna nodded slowly and Scott realized that Alex had meant it about becoming someone else on the field. Havok and Polaris couldn't be engaged. It was too dangerous.

"Cyclops, go see what's taking them so long," Lorna said.

"What?" Scott asked.

She gave him a side look.

"You've got the best combat skills to go alone besides Banshee and I," she said, "We're both needed here, and you're pretty damn fast. So go down there, and tell me what's happening."

He swallowed thickly.

"Hurry up," Lorna said.

Scott turned and ran down the hallway. The unconscious forms of guards were littered everywhere. He thought he saw Avalanche there too, but he didn't spend too much time thinking about it. He was supposed to be finding his brother and Hank.

He turned a corner and narrowly avoided a red blast.

"Jesus Cyclops!"

Scott waved tentatively and his brother lowered his arms.

"You really need to hook up that comm system soon Beast," Alex said.

"I'll get right on it," Hank said, not looking up from his work.

Alex rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Alex said.

"The rest were worried," Scott said, "They weren't sure what was going on and they sent me to find out."

Alex nodded.

"Comm systems Beast," Alex said, "First thing when we get back."

"Are you going to be constructive, or are you going to just stand there?" Hank growled.

Alex rolled his eyes and turned to Scott again.

"We're just finishing up right now," he said, "Beast has been working pretty hard to make sure that all of these things work out."

"Okay," Scott said, "Okay."

He pushed some of his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"The others are doing a pretty good job holding the Brotherhood off," Scott said, "The guards are pretty easy: they all have metal bits in their uniforms."

"Morons," Alex laughed, "Polaris must be having a field day."

The affection in his tone was unmistakable. Scott grinned to himself. Havok and Polaris weren't engaged, but that didn't stop the small shows of affection. Sending someone to see if something was wrong, the tone. It was a good partnership, and it made them both happy. It made Alex happy, which was the most important thing.

He couldn't wait for Lorna to be his sister.

"Didja hear that?"

Scott frowned. His brother gestured for him to move closer to him. Scott stood by his side as the sounds of combat echoed through the tunnel.

"What the hell?" Alex muttered.

A security guard was tossed past the opening of the room. Alex kept his eyes fixed on the doorway.

"Beast, hurry up," he said.

He slid his feet into a broad stance. Scott copied it, putting one of his hands on his goggles. Two more guards flew by before Magneto walked in, rubbing his hands together. He looked at the two of them and a smirk played on his lips.

"When did Charles begin recruiting kindergartners?" Magneto said.

Alex didn't answer. He just sent a blast from his hands. Scott pulled the dial back on his goggles and Magneto weaved between the beams. Some of the walkway began to bend and shake, causing Scott to stumble. He looked for his brother, but he was already charging forwards.

The walkway crumbled a bit more and Alex leapt over it. He landed in front of Magneto and the air was filled with red light. Scott had to shield his eyes and stumble backwards. Hank put a hand out to steady him.

"I've got it," Hank mumbled, "We need to get out of here before something else happens."

Scott nodded and looked back at his brother. He'd disappeared into the next room and, from the sounds of combat, so had Magneto.

"Can you make the jump?" Hank asked.

"Yeah," Scott said.

He took a deep breath and took a running leap. He landed on the other side, his feet struggling to keep him standing. Hank landed next to him, shaking the walkway and almost making Scott lose his balance.

They ran into the next hallway over. Alex was forcing Magneto back with a series of blasts. Different chunks of metal flew through the air, shielding Magneto from the blasts. His attention was focused on Alex.

Scott straightened his stance and waited. He put one of his hands up to his goggles and looked. They two of them were moving back and forth, and he knew that any gap would be a small one. He would need perfect timing to get it right.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he told himself that he could do it. They needed Magneto to get out of the way so they could leave. All they had to do was make it back to the main hall, and then Clarice would be able to teleport them all out.

He saw his brother weave and Scott knew he had his shot. He let out a short blast which sent Magneto down the opposite hallway. Alex stared at Magneto for a moment before looking at Scott.

"We need to get out of here!" Hank yelled.

Alex nodded and they raced to the main room. Beast brandished the floppy disk and Clarice plucked several crystals out of her quiver. There was a flash of magenta light and Scott found himself back on the Blackbird. Several more flashes brought the rest of the X-men there, followed quickly by Clarice herself.

Scott sat down in one of the seats and buckled up. Lorna and Sean raced to the cockpit and started up the Blackbird. Scott sighed and bowed his head, feeling exhausted. It was over. He'd completed his first mission.

"Good work everyone," Alex said.

He sat down next to Scott.

"And Scotty boy?" Alex muttered.

"Yeah?" Scott asked.

His brother smiled.

"Nice shooting."

* * *

Jean sat in the hanger, holding her knees to her chest. Her friends had just gone on their first mission. Without her. Although Jean knew that she was late to being an X-men, the thought of her friends in danger and her not being there to help them still wasn't a pleasant one.

The Professor sat next to her. They'd sat in silence since the Blackbird had taken off. The Professor had brought a book, but Jean couldn't do much more than stare in front of her. Nothing was going to distract her.

After a while the Professor shut his book.

"The waiting is always difficult," he said.

Jean looked away.

"Knowing people you care about are in danger...well," the Professor said, "It's probably one of the most unpleasant aspects of the X-men."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know you worry about getting left behind," the Professor said, "But in a few months you'll be with them, fighting alongside them, helping protect them. Something I can rarely do now."

Jean turned and looked at him. He gave her a wry smile.

"Sometimes all we can do is hope in them, know that they're capable," the Professor said, "Just as I know you will be when the time comes."

The hanger doors opened. Jean let go of her knees just as the Blackbird pulled in. She got up just as the hatch door opened. Her friends came out first, giving each other high-fives. Scott seemed a little more subdued, but she was glad to see that he only had a scratch on his chin.

Jean tentatively took a step forward.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Chaotic," Clarice said.

"Got it in one," Warren said.

"We'll get the hang of it," Scott said, "We all will."

He looked at Jean and gave her a smile. She smiled back as the Professor cleared his throat. They turned to him and he cocked his head.

"I'm glad you're all in one piece," he said, "I assume you got the disk?"

"Of course," Hank said, "First solid lead we've had on Essex Industries in years."

The Professor nodded, pleased.

"Then congratulations on a job well-done."


	65. Chapter 65

"For as much as Alexander and Lorna have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and these witnesses, and thereto have pledged their faithfulness each to the other, and have pledged the same by the giving and receiving each of a ring," the reverend said, "by the authority invested in me as a minister of the gospel according to the laws of the state of New York, I pronounce that they are husband and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. You may now kiss the bride."

Alex wrapped one of his arms around Lorna's back, the other cradling her head. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He'd told himself that he wouldn't make the kiss too big, that he would let it be gentle and small.

Instead, the feel of her warm skin, the touch of her veil and hair on his cheek, all of it was reminding him that she was his wife now. His wife. Alex couldn't resist kissing her a little more deeply than he'd planned. She didn't seem to object.

When they did pull away she grinned at him before pulling at his hand. She took her bouquet from Rahne, whom she'd elected to be her maid of honor. She'd even let her pick the bridesmaid dresses. Rahne had picked green, which was odd since Alex thought her favorite color was purple. He supposed it was in honor of her friend's hair.

Jean and Clarice were the other two bridesmaids. Ororo had said that she didn't need to be part of the wedding party, and as such sat in the audience. It had uncomfortably surprised Alex to learn about just how few female friends Lorna had. Miss Mahn was her friend and fellow teacher, but she'd had to go back home for a family situation. Their other two friends were both male, and Alex had snapped them up to be his groomsmen.

Lorna didn't seem to mind, nor did she mind their small collection of witnesses. It was mostly just the X-men. Warren had already gone home for the summer though. Jean'd had plans, but her father had told her that it would probably be safer if she just stayed where she was for the next few months. He had visited twice, and there was another visit planned before the end of the year.

School was out, and neither of them had any family to speak of outside of the people who were already there. He glanced over his shoulder at Scott, who was his best man. Hank and Alex were standing there as well. He gave a short grin to them before he let his wife lead him down the aisle.

Alex saw the Professor sitting in the front row. Some part of Alex had been worried about when they had chosen to get married. July wasn't really close to May, not really. However, it was close enough that part of him had been worried that it would bring up some unpleasant memories. It had been the only time they could manage, between school going into session and the two of them being teachers, but he'd still been a little worried.

The Professor had never brought it up. He'd simply smiled at the two of them at the mention of their date and helped them plan. Alex knew that the Professor would be happy for them. Sometimes it just shocked him how selfless his mentor could be.

Lorna led him around the back of the Institute and into the main lobby. She pulled him up the stairs and he laughed. They were supposed to wait a few minutes before they went down for the reception, which was going to be hosted in the ballroom. They just needed to give them a few minutes to prepare.

Tehy went into his room and he pulled her close, kissing her. He buried his hand in her green hair, remembering the way he'd first seen it fall down when she'd removed her hat. One of his hands slid down her arm, resting on her waist.

Lorna pulled away, tsking jokingly.

"Not until after the reception," she said, "You're going to ruin my hair at this rate."

"Since when have you cared about your hair?" he asked.

Lorna shrugged. She pushed some of her stray hairs away from her collarbone, her fingers brushing up against her mother's necklace. Her fingers paused on it for a moment before continuing. She smiled like nothing had happened, but Alex knew her better.

"Lorna," he said, "Something wrong?"

She began to smile again, almost like she was getting ready to chide him.

"I'm your husband now," he said, "You don't have to be embarrassed about anything. You never did. Even when I was that idiot you were dating."

"You're still an idiot," Lorna said.

She paused for a moment before putting her hand back on her necklace.

"I was just...I was just wondering what she'd think about all this," Lorna said.

"You getting married?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Lorna said.

She sat down on the edge of his bed. Alex sat next to her. She rarely talked about her mother. The last real conversation they'd had about her had been the day that they had begun dating. It seemed so long ago.

"I think she would've liked you," Lorna said, "She would've thought you were opinionated and hard-headed, but she would've liked you."

"So you're saying she was smart?" Alex asked.

Lorna laughed, but it sounded sad. He reached out and took her free hand.

"Sometimes I wonder about what my parents would've thought," he said.

She turned to him, waiting. He talked about his parents even less than she talked about hers.

"My dad would've liked that you're strong. He met my mom in the war. She was a nurse, got stationed in Europe," Alex said, "And she would've admired your spark. They both had nerves of steel."

He swallowed.

"Nerves enough to give away the last parachutes to their children," he said.

Lorna let go of his hand. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Everyday I thank them for that," she said.

"And I thank your mother for being determined enough to keep you," Alex said, "God only knows if I'dve met you if she hadn't."

Lorna leaned forwards and pressed her lips to his. It was soft and sweet, but no less passionate than their other kisses. She pulled away and pressed her forehead to his.

"I love you," Lorna said.

"I love you too," Alex said.

He smiled and got up, taking her hand in his again.

"Come on," he said, "Let's not be late to our own reception."

* * *

Scott leaned back in his chair. It was his first wedding, but it wasn't that bad of an experience. It was a small party, but Scott liked it better that way. He knew everyone there, and he couldn't think of anyone else they could ask to share his brother's special day with.

A few seats down Clarice sat next to Rahne, irritably moving the bouquet around with the tip of her knife like it was going to explode. When Lorna had tossed it it had all but fallen into Clarice's hands. She'd looked at it in distaste, and even now seemed like she wanted to be rid of it.

Scott looked at his brother. Alex was dancing with Lorna, their arms wrapped around each other. He smiled. They really were happy together.

"You look happy."

He turned his head and saw Jean. She sat beside him, her eyes bright. He had to resist the urge to swallow. The green dress that Rahne had chosen was making Jean's hair seem even redder somehow, almost like it was glowing. The urge to touch it was almost insurmountable.

"My brother's happy, so I'm happy," Scott said, "Besides, I've got a sister now."

"You'll have to start thinking about having nephews and nieces soon," Jean laughed.

He blanched.

"I don't think that Alex is quite ready to be a father yet," he said.

Jean shrugged. There were a few other people dancing, more for the fun of it than anything else. She looked at the couple again before looking back at Scott.

"Do you want to dance?" she asked.

Scott froze. Jean's voice was hesitant, almost frightened. He looked at her, saw the hope in his eyes. Surely he was imagining that though. After that whole mess with Warren, there was no way that she would even consider him. After all, he'd already done the mental comparison.

Still, she kept looking at him with her hopeful eyes. He smiled nervously.

"Sure," he said, "Why not?"

He got up and offered her his hand. Jean took it and he led her to the dance floor. For a moment he saw Ororo look at him funny from where they were, and Scott felt heat flood his face. Warren wasn't there, but he knew Ororo wasn't the kind to keep secrets. Jean saw it too and looked at him, confused.

"Is something wrong?" Jean asked.

He took a deep breath. He wasn't going to let his life be dictated by one dance invitation that had gone wrong. Jean had turned Warren down. Scott had waited for a while so that it wouldn't look like he was swopping in. He'd done everything right.

Alex had told him that he shouldn't let some idea of nobility stop him. He wasn't going to stop just because jean had turned Warren down. Besides, they were past that, weren't they? It had been months ago. If Warren wasn't over it, then he had no clue why that would be.

Scott turned his back on where Ororo was and smiled at Jean.

"I'm just not a good dancer," he said.

"Is that all?" Jean laughed, "Don't worry. That's not going to be such a big deal. Not for this song."

She bit her lip nervously and let her hand wrap around his wrist.

"Just um, put your hand on my waist," Jean said.

Scott gulped as she placed his hand on her waist.

"And just hold my hand with the other," she said.

Scott did so, feeling his face fire up.

"And then we kind of just...um, move around each other," Jean said.

Scott moved awkwardly. He'd been able to execute combat maneuvers gracefully in the past. He had no idea why dancing was so difficult. However, he usually wasn't holding the girl of his dreams in his arms while he fought. It wouldn't be particularly safe.

"Okay," Jean said, "Okay."

She swallowed and looked down.

"Okay," she repeated.

They moved in silence for a little bit. The silence was getting awkward, and Scott realized he should probably say something.

"Where did you learn to dance?" he asked.

"Books," Jean said, sounding grateful for something to say, "They had forms in there. I didn't have any partners, but you need to find something to pass the time sometimes."

He nodded and bit his lip. From across the room his eyes met his brother's. Alex rolled his eyes and took his hand off Lorna's waist. He made a pushing motion with it.

"Well, you do it well," Scott said.

"Thanks," Jean said.

Scott looked at his brother, who was still making the pushing motion.

"You look really pretty," Scott said.

"Oh, um, thanks," Jean said.

His brother had smacked himself in the forehead. Lorna was looking at him strangely and Scott searched for something else to say, something that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot.

"Do you want to...I don't know...do you want to go out sometime?"

Immediately after he spoke Scott wished he could die. Of all the idiotic, crass ways that he could have spoken. He'd topped it this time. Jean looked up at him, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. Scott licked his lips and looked at his brother, who was nodding. How could this possibly be good?

Scott looked back at Jean, and felt her lips on his cheek.

"Yes," she murmured.

His face flushed red, and he knew he was grinning like an idiot. In the back, he saw Alex give him a thumbs up. Lorna turned and grinned at him. Maybe he should go to more weddings if this was the result.


	66. Chapter 66

The ground shook underneath them. Clarice saw Avalanche run into the alleyway after them, heading straight for Alex. She threw a crystal at him. He disappeared and reappeared a minute later in front of Alex. He turned, confused, and Alex hit him with a blast of light. He crashed into the alley wall and Alex nodded at her.

"We're almost at the rendezvous point," he said, "Keep going!"

Clarice didn't need to be told twice. She continued running, Ororo drawing level with her. The two of them were definitely the fastest of the X-men, although Jean was getting there. Clarice figured that girls were just better at being speedy.

Splitting into three groups for this particular mission had seemed like a good idea at the time. It was the classic divide and conquer strategy, although they weren't quite running at full power. Warren wouldn't arrive back at the school for another two weeks.

To some extent it hadn't mattered. They had definitely been able to stop the Brotherhood's incursion into the city's records, why they wanted that they still had no idea, but the escape had gone a little hairy.

The comm system they had started to use was fizzling out. They were still testing them, and it appeared that they didn't have a great range. She heard Alex shout a few uncomplimentary words at Hank through them as they struggled to get reception.

They turned a new corner. Clarice knew that they were getting into the bad part of New York. The place was filthy and she saw that there were rats everywhere. It was also night, and she'd always been told to avoid being around that area at night. Muggers were likely to be the last thing that they had to worry about though.

As if to prove this point she nearly ran into Mystique's fist. Clarice flipped backwards and kicked Mystique in the chin. Clarice fell to the ground and Ororo held her hands out. A gust of wind knocked Mystique back, but she quickly recovered and moved to the side of the wall.

Two other figures came around the other way. Clarice looked around them, breathing in deeply.

"Are we within teleporting range yet?" Alex muttered.

"Not yet," Clarice said.

"Alright then," Alex murmured, "Go on without me. I'll buy you time, and meet you all at the Blackbird."

"What?" Ororo said.

"Just go!" Alex yelled.

He stepped forward and began shooting out blasts. Clarice grabbed Ororo's arm and turned down another alley.

"Where are you going?" Ororo yelled, "We can't leave him!"

"He knows what he's doing!" Clarice said.

At least, she hoped he did. She tried to calm her mind, to focus. It was more difficult than she'd let on. It was easier to just shut everything out, to just tell herself that Alex would be fine, that they weren't in an impossible situation.

They continued down several more alleys. They were almost within teleporting range of the Blackbird. Once there, Clarice knew that she would have to tell the rest what had happened. She remembered where they had left him though. They could go back for him.

Something hit her hard in the back of the neck. Clarice fell to the ground and pushed herself back up, holding her crystals. Ororo was pushed up against her back as the watched the Brotherhood members descend around them. Clarice flicked her eyes around, but Alex was nowhere to be found. These were different Brotherhood members, ones she was unfamiliar with.

"There's a four letter word that I'm thinking of right now," Ororo muttered, "Can you guess what it is?"

"I think I might be able to," Clarice said.

One of them moved forwards. Ororo widened her hands and thunder crackled. A lightning bolt shot out of the sky and hit him in the chest. The others moved in and Clarice began flinging crystals. She was running dangerously low.

The wind began to pick up. Her hair whipped in front of her face, reminding her why she'd cut it short. Clarice looked around, expecting Ororo to be controlling the wind. Instead she saw Ororo looking around, trying to find the source. Riptide was there. Splendid.

Ororo widened her hands again and began pushing back at the wind. Clarice knew that she was supposed to protect her when she concentrated like this. Alex would catch up with them soon, and she could hold off until then. She was certain that he was on his way.

Clarice continued flinging crystals, moving in a circle around Ororo. Anytime someone got too close she lashed out. Her crystals continued to dwindle, and she began to rely on her feet and hands more. She had to preserve them.

Ororo gritted her teeth in concentration. Clarice knew that she was the only reason why she wasn't being blown over at the moment. She could keep this up if she tried hard enough. They had back-up coming. It was easier to keep thinking that.

The winds picked up and both Riptide and Ororo were tossed back. Clarice dug her feet into the ground from getting tossed back too. Ororo hit her head hard and Clarice ran up to her. She was out.

She looked up and saw the Brotherhood approaching. Clarice swallowed and recounted the crystals in her quiver. There were only three of them. She swallowed again and grasped two of them, stepping in front of Ororo.

Boom-Boom stepped in front of them, laughing.

"Okay pinky-girl," she said, "Just give up right now."

Clarice stared at Boom-Boom. She'd been captured before. Clarice had been seven years old. Her parents had been murdered in front of her eyes, and she'd been experimented on for years. Clarice had been shut away from the rest of the world. The first time she saw the sun in years was when Alex had carried her out of the lab.

She wasn't going to be captured again. Clarice knew that the Brotherhood wasn't the same thing as the people who had taken her when she was a child. She wouldn't be experimented on if they took her. She would just have her freedom stolen, and possibly be tortured.

Clarice ground her feet in deeper. She was going to protect Ororo, and there was no way in hell that she was going to be taken alive. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing, living to fight another day was what she had been taught in the X-men. If she died there fighting then she would never see Rahne again, and she would leave her friend with one less person in her life.

At the same time, the idea of being shut away brought on fierce panic that was rapidly rising inside her. She was either going to fight them off or die. There was no third option. Not since she'd learned the meaning of being locked away.

"Go to hell," she said.

Boom-Boom shrugged and stepped forwards. A bolt of lightning hit her and knocked her backwards. Clarice frowned. Ororo wasn't awake. She glanced upwards and saw someone running along the rooftop.

Clarice decided that there would be time to figure that out later. She needed to use the distraction to her best advantage. Clarice threw one of her crystals and ran forwards. Her crystal's target reappeared directly above another Brotherhood member. He fell on top of him and Clarice gave a swift uppercut to the man in front of her. He went down like a sack of bricks.

She turned around and punched the next one in the throat. Clarice followed up with several quick jabs just as Boom-Boom got to her feet. She squinted at the roof and let out a frustrated breath.

"You're not supposed to be attacking us!" she snapped, "You're supposed to be attacking them!"

The figure jumped down from the roof. Clarice saw a teenager, perhaps a year older than her, with unkempt blonde hair. His clothes were shabby but clean, and his fists were clenched. She moved backwards, resuming her position in front of Ororo.

"I said I'd think about it," he said, "And when I look into your activities, what do I see?"

"Us fighting?" Boom-Boom said, "Is that really so surprising? I thought Angel told you that was part of the deal."

"I meant the stunt at City Hall," the teen said, "I just got out of jail for being a prick. I'd rather not go back for the same reason."

Clarice raised her eyebrows and moved her hand behind her back. She began creating a crystal there. Although she had no idea what was going on, it was giving her time to make more crystals.

"Coward," Boom-Boom said.

"Or maybe I'm just smarter than you," he said.

He pointed at Clarice.

"I just saw these people, and already I'm siding with them," he said.

He looked over his shoulder.

"Who are you anyway?" he asked.

"I don't know," Clarice said, her voice blunt, "Who are you?"

The teen smiled.

"Fair question," he said.

"Enough chitchat!" Boom-Boom yelled.

She sent several disks towards the teen. He ran and managed to slide next to Clarice. She moved a step over, still looking at him strangely.

"If you want to hang out with them so badly, then I guess you can die with them," Boom-Boom said.

"Hey, I'm not dying," he said.

He looked over at Clarice.

"I don't think you want to die either," he said.

"No," Clarice said.

She tossed her crystal at Boom-Boom. Boom-Boom dodged it, but she didn't see the second crystal, her final one, coming. It hit her in the shin, teleporting her to the rooftop. She fell there with a thud. The teen looked at her with wide eyes.

"That was really awesome," he said.

"Thanks, I guess," Clarice said.

She knelt down and draped Ororo's arm over her shoulder.

"I'd best get going before more of those guys show up," Clarice said.

"Sounds like a good idea," the teen said.

She gave him a cool glance.

"And you can go back to where you came from," she said.

He frowned.

"I think I might be on the Brotherhood's hit list right now," he said.

"They won't care enough about you to come after you again," Clarice said.

He looked up at Boom-Boom's unconscious form. His expression was uncertain, and Clarice could feel the uncertainty creeping into her as well.

"Sure?" he asked.

She sighed.

"Not after that speech, no," she said, "Alright, follow me. I know of a safe place. We can figure things out from there."

"Thanks," the teen said.

She began moving, and he followed her.

"Do you need help carrying your friend?" he asked, his voice awkward.

"I'm fine," Clarice said.

They ran together in silence for a few moments. Clarice kept thinking back to Alex, but she shut her thoughts down as quickly as possible. He would be fine. She'd told herself that already. It would be fine.

She formed a crystal with her spare hand. They were just within teleportation range.

"Grab my hand," she said.

She could've sworn she saw him blush.

"Um, okay," he said.

His hand closed over hers. Although it felt uncomfortable to have a strange boy touch her, she tried to focus one what she could figure out. His hand was rough and full of callouses. Manual laborer. Menial jobs. It matched well with what he said about being in jail. It might be a little difficult for a convict to get a steady job, especially if they were young.

She concentrated and they appeared at the Blackbird.

"Wow," the teen said.

Scott hurried down the catwalk. When he saw the boy his hand went to his goggles.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The teen took a step back, his hands up.

"He helped us, and I think the Brotherhood might want him dead," Clarice said, "We can do a mind scan when we get back if necessary."

"What now?" the teen said.

Scott lowered his hand.

"Where's Havok?" he asked.

"He's not back yet?" Clarice asked.

"No," Scott said, "We need to go look-"

Before he could finish Alex rounded the corner, out of breath. He waved to them and hurried up, stopping when he saw the teen.

"And this is?" he asked.

"Possible friend," Clarice said.

"I was hoping for a name," Alex said.

"Hm. Didn't think it was important," Clarice said.

The teen shifted nervously.

"I didn't give it either," he said.

He gave an uncertain smile.

"Name's Calvin Rankin."


	67. Chapter 67

"So who's the new guy?" Warren asked.

"I've already told you his name," Clarice said, blocking his right hook.

Alex chuckled as they'd practiced. He'd noticed that Clarice had a tendency to get rather bristly when people brought up Calvin. Shortly after coming to the Institute he'd asked to join the X-men. The Professor had given him a long session of questioning, the Brotherhood had been interested in him after all, but had concluded he was telling the truth about his experiences and was honest in his desire to join.

There were still several plot holes in the story though. The Professor still hadn't told Alex all the information about that, such as why Calvin had wanted to join. Feeling a little impatient, he'd straight up asked Calvin once.

"I think it might be a good way to start over," he'd said.

Alex supposed he was right about that. When they'd looked up Calvin Rankin they'd seen a criminal record a mile long. It rather reminded him of himself, except for the fact that Calvin had gotten out of Juvie early on good behavior. Alex had asked what had changed him in there and he'd just shrugged. It was like he had decided vague answers weren't silly enough. He supposed he'd have to know him for a little longer before he began using words again.

Still, the way he interacted with others was, at best, puzzling. He'd been willing to make friends and, at first, things had been going well with the others. Scott had told him that Calvin was fitting in great, and that he counted him as one of his friends. Good. Scott could always use more friends.

It had even looked like he'd gotten along with Clarice. Then he had noticed. At first Alex thought he was imagining it, but after awhile Alex realized that, yes Calvin stared at Clarice often and looked away when she returned the look.

It irritated Alex to no end. He'd learned a bit about Calvin's mutation, his ability to mimic certain powers at a certain level of strength. He'd been strong enough to mimic Ororo's lightning bolt the night they met, although he'd said later that he hadn't wanted to do it again. Something about it leaving him nauseous.

Still, it was immaterial. The fact that he knew about his powers at all meant that he'd met other mutants. He'd needed something to mimic. Surely Clarice's appearance shouldn't matter so much to him, and Alex knew that Clarice was self-conscious.

It had gotten shockingly embarrassing the first time he came into the Danger Room for a training session, and he supposed that Clarice had decided that enough was enough. He could still remember when Clarice had gone up and confronted him about it. He'd been watching from the other side of the room, ready to intervene if things got out of hand. Alex hadn't been too eager though. He'd thought that Calvin could use a lesson about acceptance.

"What do you think you're staring at?" she'd demanded.

Instead of stammering out a hastily constructed excuse like he'd expected him to, Calvin's face had turned bright red and he'd looked down. Alex had made a face, the cogs in his head slowly turning at last.

"You I guess," Calvin had said at last.

Clarice's mouth had opened, leaving her momentarily nonplussed. However, it was Clarice, and she quickly recovered.

"I'm not some sort of circus freak," she'd hissed.

He'd looked up, the blush still there but his face confused.

"Of course not," he said, "I never said...that's not...I never said that."

Clarice had stared at him, and Alex had suddenly realized what was going on. Of course that was why he'd been looking at her. More than that, the Danger Room was the first time where Calvin seen Clarice in a tank top for training, which meant he was seeing more of her arms and back. Had it really been so long ago that Alex had forgotten what being a teenager was like? That he'd forgotten what it had been like with Lorna?

He'd coughed and stepped between the two of them as quickly as he could.

"Calvin, I think we need to work on your forms a little," Alex had said, "Clarice, if you could excuse us."

He'd steered Calvin away, feeling like he could laugh but also a little guilty. Calvin was a better person than he'd given him credit for. He had the feeling that, if Clarice didn't know exactly what that little awkward exchange was about, she knew something was off. It was clear that it was also unnerving her.

Hence any question about him was quickly deflected.

"Okay, okay," Warren said, bringing his foot around in a wide arc.

Clarice caught it and pushed him onto the training mat. She knelt down and put her hand next to his throat, simulating a final blow. Warren sighed and Clarice rose to her feet. She held out a hand and helped him up.

"Warren, you're out of practice," Alex said, "You need at least two weeks of reconditioning before we let you back on the field."

Warren groaned and stretched.

"Clarice, try to make your movements a little less wide," Alex said, "Control it, and keep it in a small arc. Don't give them too much of a range to attack you. That can be pretty dangerous, but props for using his momentum against him."

"Thank you," Clarice said.

She walked over and picked up a towel to wipe away the sweat from her forehead.

"So, anything else change while I was gone?" Warren asked.

"Lorna and Alex are married," Clarice said.

"Guilty as charged," Alex laughed.

"I knew that was going to happen," Warren said, "Anything else?"

Clarice hesitated and shifted. She rarely made movements that didn't mean something, and for a moment Alex wondered if something was wrong. Suddenly Alex realized the other important thing that had happened over the summer.

He coughed. It wasn't his place to tell Warren. He was a teacher, not a student sharing gossip. He had to buy some time for Clarice though. Surely she could figure out some sort of gentle way to explain things, but it was Clarice.

"Couple of different things," he said.

"Yeah, I get that," Warren said, "What sorts of things?"

"Well..." Clarice said.

She clasped her hands behind her back. Alex sighed inwardly. She wasn't going to be gentle. He wished that it didn't have to be Clarice who said this: he didn't know how well her bluntness would serve. Then again, maybe someone being blunt was exactly what he needed.

"Jean and Scott are going out," she said.

It was just as blunt as he'd imagined. Alex watched Warren carefully. He saw Warren's expression freeze for a moment before he swallowed.

"Oh, okay," he said, "Um, when did that happen?"

"Few weeks ago," Clarice said.

"Well, good for them," Warren said.

He ruffled his hair.

"Hey, can I hit the showers?" he asked.

"Yeah, you can," Alex said.

"Right. Thanks," Warren said.

He slung a towel over his shoulders and walked off. Alex watched him go.

"That might be trouble," Clarice said.

He raised his eyebrow at her.

"How do you know that?" Alex said.

"You can tell. He's hurt," Clarice said, "I think he needs to figure out if he still wants to keep his friendships intact. Hopefully we won't see a repeat of the last time this happened."

She picked up her own towel. Alex looked after Warren, feeling worry build for his brother. Surely Warren wouldn't be that petty? Then again, he didn't know how deeply being shot down by Jean had hurt him. Warren had issues to begin with, but he thought they were getting better.

Still, he'd spent the entire summer with his father. Alex knew that Warren's father hated his son's mutation, although he seemed to care for his son. While Warren's situation was better than some mutants had, it still wasn't enviable. It felt like there were too many contradicting factors.

He thought of Scott, who was innocently enjoying his relationship with Jean. He'd been friends with Warren for a long time. They'd been through some tough times together. Warren wouldn't throw away his friendship over something like this, would he?

Part of him thought that he should go after Warren, but he had the feeling that Warren wanted to be alone for now. It would give him time to cool his head before he had to see Scott again. That was probably best. Besides, Alex was Scott's brother. He might not want to be reminded about Scott immediately.

Clarice walked up next to him and shook her head.

"I'm lucky no one will ever think of me like that," she said.

Despite his own worries for his brother, Alex whipped his head around.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"I know what I look like," Clarice said, "And I'm well aware of how few guys want a girl who looks like a piece of sugar confectionary. I don't even have a particularly good personality to go with it. I'm dry and bland, and I don't have a good sense of humor. I don't interact well with others."

Alex gave Clarice a long look.

"Clarice, don't think about yourself that way," he said.

"I'm not upset about it. I just accept it as a fact of life," Clarice said.

Alex sighed. The Professor would be better at this. However, he couldn't just ship someone up there whenever he felt at a loss for what to say. He also felt like Lorna might be better dealing with this. Hank would be better. Hank might actually be perfect.

On second thought, Hank might not be the example that he wanted to use. Hank was still secreting himself inside the Institute. It was an uncomfortable thought, given the idea of just how many years it had been since his serum had changed his appearance. Alex kept telling himself that Hank would deal with it when he was ready. It was nearly a decade since Alex had first said that to himself.

He glanced back at Clarice. The world knew that there were mutants now, but it was only tentatively accepting them. People were somewhat comfortable with the idea of low-level mutations like people who could manipulate sound or light. Comfortable might be too strong of a word, but it was as close as he could come to describing it. He'd heard that there was even a musician who used her mutation as an effect in her shows.

Alex knew that Clarice became defensive whenever anyone stared. The incident with Calvin had only reinforced this knowledge. Anyone would be uncomfortable. He could understand that she didn't want people staring at her.

However, he hadn't known that Clarice had had these particular issues. Now that he thought about it seemed obvious, but he'd missed the obvious several times in the past. Clarice wasn't exactly the most open of people, and he had the feeling that she'd just accepted this as a fact and moved on.

Although Alex wasn't exactly built to counsel teenagers in this particular area, he wasn't going to let this go by.

"Clarice, you say dry, but I say blunt and sarcastic. Not a bad thing," Alex said, "You're learning to interact with others, and you are intelligent. You're a fierce fighter. And don't worry about your looks."

He tilted his head.

"Besides, Calvin doesn't seem to have a problem with any of that," Alex said, "That might actually be what he likes about you."

He could've sworn that he saw Clarice flush, but it was hard to tell with her pink cheeks.

"Don't try to make me feel better," she said.

"Just telling the truth," Alex said, "Why don't you think about that for a while Clarice? Just don't give up."

She rolled her eyes.

"I'll try to be positive," she said.

"There's your sarcasm right there," Alex said.


	68. Chapter 68

"So it blew over?"

"Yeah, I'm still surprised about that myself," Alex said.

Sean let out a low whistle.

"Nothing, not even a punch?" he asked.

"Are you suggesting that Warren should've punched my brother for asking Jean out?" Alex said.

Hank gave a low laugh from his position across the room. Lorna put a hand in front of her mouth and chuckled. He wondered just when these informal meetings had started. He supposed it had happened when they had begun training the younger X-men. It was a way for them to congregate together and discuss the progress that the new X-men were making.

"Course not," Sean said, "I'm just saying, after the huge fuss he made about it last time he got dumped-"

"That's a crude word," Lorna said, "Jean said no. You can't use the word dumped that lightly. They weren't going out."

"Right, right," Sean said, "I'm just saying that I expected him to get a bit more emotional."

"You and me both," Alex said, "But maybe Warren decided that he only needed one lecture about the importance of friends."

"So there really weren't any repercussions?" Hank asked.

Alex paused. Scott said that Warren had been a little short with him for a few days, but it had faded. However, he'd had a few words with the Professor.

"I'm not sure that that's the right way to see it," Alex said, "I think it could turn into something if it's added to somehow."

"Such as?" Hank asked.

"I'm not really sure," Alex said, "I think...it might...hm."

He scratched his chin.

"I was talking to the Professor," Alex said, "He said that Warren's level of self-esteem has a tendency to hang on a knife's edge."

"I didn't know that we had to molly-coddle him," Lorna said.

"I never said we did," Alex said, "But I think that we might still want to monitor him."

"That's the same thing," Lorna said, "We allowed them onto the team because we thought that they were strong enough, mature enough, to be able to do this with the minimum amount of handholding. Handholding is dangerous in our line of work."

"I'm aware," Alex said, "Just, maybe, I don't know."

Hank tapped his chin.

"Perhaps you should figure out what it is he wants from the X-men," Hank said.

"Meaning?" Sean asked.

"No, it's actually quite obvious," Hank said.

He cleared his throat.

"All of our new recruits want something," he said, "Scott is the most obvious. He wants to be a hero, save others. He wants to emulate his brother."

"There are other reasons," Alex muttered.

"I just said there are," Hank said, "But they want something. Ororo knows the pain of losing someone. She never wants to go through that again. Clarice never wants to be helpless. Jean wants to keep up with the others, to fight with them as one. Warren...I'm not sure."

"Perhaps justification," Sean said, "His father tells him it's bad that he's a mutant. We tell him that it's good. Maybe he's caught."

"It would mean that he's been caught for several years," Alex said.

"Yes, it would," Hank said, "But I've been caught between two conflicting ideals for years."

He held one of his hands by his side.

"On the one hand, acceptance of what I am. Teaching this ideal to others, using my gifts to protect my species," Hank said.

He held out his other hand.

"On the other, fear of the world, hatred for my own cowardice, loathing for my appearance," Hank said.

Alex stared at his friend. Hank put his hands together.

"Holding both of these together is painful," he said, "But it does not simply go away after a few years. Things like this last much longer than we think."

Hank continued to stare at his hands. Alex swallowed and got up. His thoughts about Hank's feelings on his appearance when he spoke to Clarice burst into his mind. How could he have not seen this sooner?

"Hank...I didn't realize you felt this way," he said.

"It's a struggle," Hank said, "And one that I have almost won. But...things like this...sometimes they have to be done by yourself. Sometimes help can only interfere. It's why I didn't want to talk about it."

He unfolded his hands.

"It's why I've decided that it's time to leave the Institute," Hank said.

Alex heard Lorna take a sharp intake of breath. He felt all feeling drain from his body.

"While I haven't been active in the world outside these walls, I have been a rather avid letter writer," Hank said, "I've secured a job in an experimental facility near Rhode Island. One of my old friends from Harvard, Paul Baulson, is doing some research on eye treatments there. He's invited me to be part of his clinic."

Words stuck in Alex's throat. Lorna stepped forwards.

"I...I can't believe you're leaving," she said, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I didn't know if my place was going to be secured for certain," Hank said, "I didn't want to leave until I knew for sure."

"Hank..." Alex said.

His friend turned to look at him, sadness in his eyes.

"You can't leave," Alex said, "I...you can't..."

He looked around the room, searching for inspiration. He had to make Hank see how foolish leaving would be.

"Sean, tell him," Alex said.

"Actually, I'm leaving too," Sean said.

What little feeling was left in his body drained away.

"I um...I got a job with Interpol," Sean said, "When I get my final degree, I'm going to go to Europe and begin training. I'm going to be stationed in Ireland. I have some relatives there."

Alex sank back into his chair. He looked at both of his friends, saw the grim look in their eyes.

"You two talked about this," he said.

"Yeah," Sean said, scratching his neck.

"It's not a decision that we came to easily," Hank said, "But...in some ways we've outgrown the Institute."

Alex shoved the table away from him and got to his feet. He saw Lorna move towards him, but he shook off his arm.

"Isn't that dandy for you then?" Alex said, "You can just make that decision? Decide to leave? What about Magneto? All our research into Essex Industries? Stryker? What about all this shit we've been hearing from Kelly?"

His friends looked at him uncertainly.

"Well?" Alex shouted.

"Alex, calm down," Lorna said.

He glared at his wife.

"You're right, I'm not calm," he said.

He looked back at Hank and Sean.

"And the reason why I'm not calm is that two of my best friends, two of the first X-men, have decided that they've 'outgrown' protecting the world," Alex said.

"That's not what I meant!" Hank said.

"It's certainly what it sounded like!" Alex snapped.

He pushed the table out of the way again. This time it hit the wall. Sean was licking his lips nervously, almost as though Alex were a bomb that was about to explode. Alex certainly felt like he was about to explode.

"You're going to leave, just like that?" Alex said, "Forget what happened here, get one with your lives?"

"Forgetting this place will be impossible, for more reasons than one," Sean said.

His voice was nervous. It was the first time in a long time that Alex was happy with the tone leaving Sean's lips.

"Of course. Leaving: easy. Forgetting: impossible," Alex hissed.

"Once more, that is not what he meant," Hank said.

Alex ignored him.

"Just What are you going to tell the Professor?" he demanded.

"He already knows," Hank said.

The answer made Alex stagger backwards. The Professor knew? Alex wished he could imagine the Professor getting angry and yelling at them like he was. If that had happened though, he doubted that Hank and Sean would dare tell him so casually about it.

"He...he already knows?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Hank said, "We told him yesterday."

"And he understood," Sean added.

Something about Sean's tone reignited Alex's anger. It made him feel fifteen again, looking at the walls of a small cell in solitary confinement. It was comfortable there, a place where no words could get in, where there was nothing to lose.

"Then he's just as big a fool as you two," Alex hissed, "Maybe even more."

He shook his head and headed for the door.

"We're done here," he said.

"Alex, wait," Sean said.

He stepped in front of him. Alex shoved him out of the way.

"Alex, listen to us!" Hank said.

"There is nothing you can say!" Alex snapped.

He put his hands on the door, ready to shove it open. Suddenly, two arms wrapped around his chest. Alex got ready to shove them off, yell and scream, until he realized just who it was that they belonged to.

Lorna's head rested on the crook of his neck, her lips next to his ear.

"Alex, when we first started dating, I told you about my parents," she whispered, "And I told you that I didn't understand how you can just up and leave someone that you love."

"Tell that to them," Alex muttered.

"No," Lorna said, "Alex, I told you that I liked you because you understood."

He grip around his chest increased.

"Understand," she whispered, "Please."

Alex closed his eye. He could feel pain rising from his chest, almost as though the bonds that had been holding it in had been loosened by his wife's touch. He bit his lip, trying to pull himself together.

Then he realized that he didn't want to pull himself together. Tears began to flood his eyes. His friends were leaving, but they weren't abandoning him. There was a difference between the two, one that he didn't want to acknowledge.

Hank couldn't hide inside the Institute forever. It had taken him over ten years to muster up the courage he needed to step outside its doors. He was going to move on, to do something for the world that didn't involve hiding behind a codename.

Sean was going to go and fight crime in another country. It had been what he'd studied for, what he'd taken advanced degrees for. He'd never wanted to be a teacher at the Institute. That hadn't been his path. It had been Alex's, Lorna's, the Professor's. Not his.

Instead of being proud for his friends he'd been angry. He put a hand to his mouth, the tears finally spilling down his cheeks. They were going away. When he'd said that they had meant everything to the X-men, he'd meant it. Now they were going away.

Slowly, he lowered his hands so they were on top of Lorna's. He took them off his chest and turned to face her. His eyes opened, thanking her without words. Lorna blinked at him in return, and he knew that she understood.

Alex looked at his friends. Their eyes met his, and he suddenly realized that she wasn't the only one who understood. Alex thought of the boy locked in solitary all those years ago. He'd thought he'd left him behind, but he supposed there was still a shard of him left inside.

It was fortunate that he hadn't let him win.

"I...I'm going to miss you both," he said.

"We'll miss you too Alex," Hank said.

"Yeah," Sean said, "Even with all the assholeness and ugliness."

Despite the pain he was feeling, Alex threw his head back and laughed.

* * *

_**A/N: **This story ended up being a lot longer than I had originally planned. However, it should be done in the next ten or so chapters. _


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